Don't Say You Care
by evilmunchkin
Summary: Full summary inside, too complex to write in this little box. Read, review, all that good stuff. Rated T for a little strong language and just in case.
1. Great Inference, Sherlock

_**Read. Review. You guys know the drill. (: **_

_**This story uses my own couple of characters, with of course the typical ones included. Here's a description for my own characters (you don't have to read this, but it's recommended. Same goes for the summary in italics)**_

**_Aurelia Weston__: Prefers to go by Lia; sophomore girl; new to the area and Darton High; deep, deep brunette, stick-straight, short hair; amber eyes; very fair-skinned; 5'3"; former endurance riding competitor; lives with her parents at Windy Mill Ranch; an only child; quiet and normally serious, jokes usually come in the form of derogatory sarcasm; owns Spirit, but hardly ever rides._**

**_Sacred Spirit__: "Spirit" is a chestnut Arabian mare with an unusually super-refined head, stands at 14.3 hands, and adores people. Owned by Lia, who occasionally rides her lightly._**

**_Willis Bronte__: Goes by Will; junior boy; hair is a mix of red/brown/black, medium-length for a boy, wavy; blue eyes; fair-skinned, but not like Lia; has a few freckles around his nose; 5'8"; has been working part-time for the Forster's for the past six months; lives in the outskirts of Darton; has one older brother named Theodore, aka Ted; doesn't own a horse; parents fight constantly; quiet and reserved, but less serious than Lia, more willing to take risks._**

**_Bliss__: Bliss is a red roan Mustang mare that Brynna adopted on a whim. She is Will's main horse to work. Built like a quarter horse, stands at 15 hands, and is a great sprinter. Wyatt thinks she'll make a good cutting horse. _**

_**SUMMARY for **__**Don't Say You Care:** __Lia has just moved to the Darton area, living on Windy Mill Ranch with her parents. Although the ranch is small, her parents are finally happier than they've been in years and are enjoying living out their dreams of breeding and training Arabian horses. _

_But Lia isn't happy. After a terrifying riding accident that caused the death of her old horse, she has refused to compete in endurance riding ever since and hardly even rides at all._

_Sam, Jake, and Will, a boy who helps Jake in training horses for Wyatt, are all determined to help her conquer her fears. Will their combined efforts be enough to convince Lia to ride outside the ring?_

_Love begins to bloom between Jake and Sam as they work together for their common cause. However, Will is afraid to express his own feelings for Lia, especially when one event reveals why she is afraid to open up to any guy. Can he change that, or will Lia push away the greatest thing that's ever happened to her**?**_

Chapter 1

The lightning flashed again, followed by a crack of thunder that shook the earth beneath Eagle's hooves. He neighed in distress, but I didn't dare try to give him a reassuring pat for fear of losing control as he danced beneath me, threatening to bolt. I looked around, but all I could see was the rain, the angry black sky, the whipping trees like dark shadows, Eagle's drenched form beneath my seat.

I tried to take a deep breath, but I couldn't breath. It was like the water from the sky was drowning me. Panic threatened to overwhelm me completely as Eagle reared, reaching for the flashing sky. I wanted to scream, but my vocal chords wouldn't function. They were drenched, drowned out…

Eagle returned to the earth and bolted, making it impossible to see where we were going. I couldn't stop him, couldn't see, couldn't breathe. The darkness deepened between each flash of lightning, the world turning into strange black and blue swatches around me, more indistinct as the hoof beats beneath me quickened.

Then everything started moving in slow-motion. There was a river approaching, something I hadn't seen in the blinding rain, but I couldn't slow Eagle's frantic pace. He plunged into the river, slipping on the rocks at the bottom. This time, as blackness enveloped my sight and I was lost in the current, I screamed.

"Lia!" my mother called out to me frantically. I felt my eyes pop open and I shot up in my bed, the sheets tangled around me and a sheen of sweat on my forehead. I panted, trying to control my out-of-control heart rate.

My mother rushed to my side and placed a cool hand on my forehead. "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah," I whispered hoarsely. She nodded in understanding, but her expression was flustered. After eleven months, she hadn't figured out how to keep the nightmare away, or at least stop the screaming. But she checked on me every time I screamed anyways, trying to figure out something, anything, that would chase those images away. Nothing had worked.

"Would you maybe like a glass of milk?" she asked soothingly. I shook my head.

"No, thanks," I murmured. She sighed in defeat.

"Come wake me up if you need me."

"Mmkay." I tried to act like I was sleepy, turning my head away from her. In reality, I probably wouldn't fall back asleep tonight. I usually didn't after that nightmare.

"'Night, sweetheart." She placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, then left me alone in blackness again. I trembled. I didn't want to be alone, but I felt so weak having to depend on my mother just hold my wits together. I clutched my pillow and tried to focus on something pleasant. At first, nothing came to mind, but I kept up my efforts, and found one thing to focus on.

My new room smelled nice.

Living in Nevada was going to be nightmarish if this kind of thing kept up, I thought bitterly. After what seemed like hours, I fell asleep for what felt like seconds.

I awoke the next day to find that my curtains had been drawn open and sunlight was filling up the room with a blinding light. I shielded my eyes and groaned, not wanting to leave the comfort of my bed. My father strolled in, whistling cheerfully.

"Good morning, sunshine!" he announced jovially. I lifted up my head and turned to glare at him before burying my face in a pillow. "Oh, come on," he encouraged brightly, "it's a beautiful day out, and your horse needs a good grooming."

I grumbled wearily, mentally cursing my lack of deep sleep as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Seven-ish."

"What?!" I screeched. I refused to get out of bed before nine, considering it was winter vacation and all that.

"We don't have the luxury of a groom right now, Lia," he scolded gently. I tried not to cringe as he brought back memories of our old home. "You have your own horse; you're at least taking care of _her_. Besides, I let you sleep in an hour. You'll be waking up at six every morning from now on."

He was being more than fair, but I didn't want to admit that. I wasn't in the mood for his guilt-trips, or waking up before the sun rose every freaking day. I jumped out of bed and made a shooing motion with my hands as I rolled my eyes. He understood me clearly; I could tell by the way his eyes glared in my direction, but he ignored it and just began to leave.

"I already fed her for you," he called out. His tone implied that I was supposed to thank him. Instead, I slammed the door shut behind his retreating figure, satisfied by the loud noise it produced.

***

"Come on, honey!" my mom shouted from the old pickup. I shuffled my way out, trying to keep my teeth from chattering. Why was it so darn cold here? Gosh, I missed California. The ache in my chest accentuated the thought.

"Who are these people again?" I asked in a huff, leaning against the window as she drove down our rocky driveway. She fixed her short, dark blond hair in the mirror with one hand, fluffing it up and smoothing a few pieces before she let her eyes drift to me. For some reason, this made me self-conscious. My short, almost black hair was a bit greasy, its asymmetrical cut looking more like an accident with the scissors than the stylish statement it was intended to be, thanks to my sufficient lack of effort this morning. I had only managed to scrape together the few warm clothes I had with some worn-out, faded jeans over my dusty boots. I hadn't felt like wearing any makeup, either. Of course, I chided myself, did it really matter what I looked like? I simply couldn't care less.

"The Forster's. At Riverbend Ranch. Brynna and Wyatt are the parents. Samantha is the oldest kid, your age I think. She'll go to school with you at Darton High, at any rate. Then they have a newborn boy named Cody, and Wyatt's mother, Grace, lives with them. I forgot all the ranch hands' names, though." I glanced at her and made a snorting noise, making my contempt for the children's age difference obvious.

"Brynna's not Wyatt's first wife," she responded, instantly guessing my question.

"Divorce?" I had an aunt and an uncle who had both been through their own sets of divorces. I'd seen what happened to their children--and themselves. I could only feel pity for this family, even if they were relatively happy. I don't know if I would ever be able to handle that sense of betrayal. It was such a surreal concept to me with my happily married parents.

"No. Grace explained on the phone--Sam's real mother died in a car accident when she was about five."

I instantly felt regretful of my snarky attitude, but I couldn't form a decent apology. I settled for looking ashamed. A strange silence entered the truck cab, and I mindlessly drew patterns on my window, trying to imagine everything that poor girl had been through. It was impossible.

Finally, a long stretch of silence later, we clunked over a bridge and parked in front of a large ranch house. It was white with pretty green shutters adorning all the windows. A dog barked a few times in warning, but was quickly quieted by some tall man's orders. When he glanced up at the truck, I was astonished to see his dark, deeply tanned face, and a few strands of unusually long black hair whip across his features in the wind. He was so unique that it was hard not to stare in speculation as I jumped out of the truck cab.

An older woman, her gray hair in a messy bun and a food-splattered apron, came out from the screen door and waved cheerily.

"Why, hello there!" she called out. Grace, I assumed, then proceeded to shuffle down the porch steps, past the young man, and shake my mother's hand warmly. "What a pleasure to meet you in person, Cassandra. And if you haven't already guessed, I'm Grace." She laughed warmly.

"It's great to meet you too, Grace," my mother said in her cordial way. Grace turned to me, and I felt the urge to shift my eyes to the toes of my boots.

"And you must be Aurelia," she said, taking my hand in hers. "My, my, you're quite the beauty." I blushed, hoping it went unnoticed. I knew people only said that because of my unusual amber eyes. I didn't find myself all that pretty; sometimes, I think I resembled an owl.

"Thanks, nice to meet you," I said quietly.

"Ah, well, it's freezing out here!" Grace exclaimed. "Let's get you guys inside and give you something to eat!"

I was bombarded with greetings once I entered the house. I only remembered the names of the family members, and a couple other guests, even after being introduced to the ranch hands. I suppose that by the time I'd gotten around to them my brain was already fried. I hoped I would learn fast, though.

The Indian man turned out to be just some really tall senior in high school named Jake Ely. Another boy who looked to be high-school age as well, Will Bronte, worked alongside Jake for the Forster's, training horses and doing other odd jobs. I tried not to look disgusted as Wyatt explained the whole process cheerily to my mother and I. Riding hadn't sounded appealing in months.

Dinner passed by slowly, and I kept quiet for most of the time. However, I finally couldn't stand the whole thing. Everyone was discussing the topic of adopting Mustangs and training them. I didn't want to hear about training and riding. I wanted to go home, curl up in bed, and listen to some mind-numbing music. I couldn't stand to act like I was interested in what they were saying. Honestly, the whole ordeal made me want to cry.

"Excuse me," I finally blurted out. The whole table fell oddly silent. "May I go for a walk, get some fresh air? I--I've been feeling kind of sick all day today."

"Are you sure you'd rather not just lie on the couch, dear?" Grace asked. "It's freezing out there."

"No ma'am, I'm sure. Um, cold weather refreshes me."

"If you're certain, then of course you're excused." I tried to look a little worn down as I made my way out of the house, for I had a strong urge to jump out of my seat and dash through the door.

The wind hit me with an overpowering force, causing me to catch my breath. I shivered, but knew it was better to be out here alone then in that warm kitchen with all of those people. I had been so close to having a breakdown.

Hoping no one was watching me, I decided to scurry to the barn. It would be a little warmer, shielded from the wind, and being around horses was always comforting, even if the actual riding wasn't.

The barn turned out to be quite warm as I entered, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My fingers had already started going numb out in that weather. Glancing around, I noticed there were only a few horses inside; most of the space was used for storage. A couple of the horses stuck their heads over their stall doors in greeting, and I felt a smile creep across my face.

The two horses that caught my eye, though, were a paint with an odd silvery-blue overo coat pattern, and a red roan. I let the paint sniff my hand, but he quickly lost interest. I moved on to the roan, who let me scratch its head and neck for a long while. I lost track of time and felt--well, almost content. Horses were therapeutic to be around, not ride, I decided.

"You're a pretty horse, aren't you?" I crooned aloud. The roan responded with a sneeze, and I let out a little laugh.

"Isn't she a beauty?" a boy's voice called out from behind me. I wheeled in surprise to see Will standing in the barn doorway. "Did I scare you?"

"I think 'surprised' is a better term," I said a bit stiffly. He strolled over to where I was petting the roan.

"Her name's Bliss," he said softly, holding out his hand. The mare snuffed his palm, then began licking it. A little smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "She's my favorite."

"You don't have your own horse?" I asked, curiosity piqued. He shook his head and looked down at his boots, which were immensely cleaner than my own. I thought I should have felt embarrassed at that difference, but no heat flashed across my face.

"Well, why are you here anyways?"

**"**Grace told me to check on you, see if you were okay. You do look pale." Genuine concern crossed his features.

"I _am _pale," I said through gritted teeth.

He remained silent for a few moments before trying to start a different conversation. "You know," he turned to face me directly, and I raised an eyebrow, "Wyatt's been telling me to start taking Bliss on trail rides. Your mom said you used to trail ride a lot, endurance riding and all that, so if you ever need a trail riding partner, Sam, Jake, and I are usually available."

I looked away awkwardly. "I _used _to trail ride."

"So you don't trail ride anymore, at all?" he asked, sounding shocked. I gave him a disbelieving look and rolled my eyes.

"Great inference, Sherlock," I snorted sarcastically. He already appeared rather exasperated with my attitude. Nothing new there.

"Why not?" What a pushy boy.

"Reasons." I crossed my arms and gave him a stubborn stare.

"Alright, I get it. You don't like talking about it."

"Score two for Sherlock."

Something that could have been embarrassment crossed his face this time. I felt my bitter mask falter, but I couldn't find the right words to say, to explain. I wasn't sure I wanted to; after all, I hardly knew Will. He gave Bliss one last pat before turning back to the house.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, stopping momentarily to look me in the eye. It was then that I truly looked at him, studied him, in that one immeasurable moment. His hair looked like a mix of brown and black in the dim light of the barn, a little wavy, and his eyes were an pale blue, like an aquamarine gemstone. His face was angular, like it had been chiseled from stone, but not in a harsh way, just clear, defined. He was fair, but not as pale as I was--I that was almost a ghostly pale. He had a few freckles sprinkled across his nose and was possibly half a foot taller than I was.

Subconsciously, as he turned away and continued on, I ran a hand through my disheveled hair, fingering through a few knots. I hadn't taken notice before, but he was quite… handsome. Actually, _very _handsome.

"Will?" I called out shyly. He turned swiftly, probably caught off guard by my bashful tone.

"I--" nothing coherent was going to come out of my mouth at this rate. I sucked in a deep breath. "Don't be sorry."

He nodded mutely. "Really," I continued. "I'm just… not feeling well, and I don't like talking about that stuff, okay?"

He gave me a half-hearted smile before walking out the barn.

I realized that my heart felt a little heavy after our convoluted conversation. There was no way I could already be falling for him. No possible way.

But there was something there. That was why I had been so cold to him. I had promised myself to never get close to another boy after what had happened with my only boyfriend I'd ever had.

The effort wasn't worth the price.


	2. Do I Win Anything?

**Read&Review**

**In my story, Linc hasn't been arrested, and Rachel and Ryan are living with him. Poor Jen and her family are still living underneath Slocum's shadow… but it'll make this story much more interesting as it continues.**

**I'm not sure if I like how this chapter turned out. I got kinda stuck. Oh, well, I have great ideas for the next chapter.**

**Anyways, on with it!**

Chapter 2

"Hey, it's Sam, Sam Forster," the voice from the phone said in a chirpy voice the next day. I rubbed my eyes, wishing I could be as energetic as she was. How was one this cheerful at six in morning?

Just then, my mom strode past me, whistling and smiling while I raised a dubious eyebrow at her. She just kept smiling and went into the kitchen to start breakfast while I slumped onto the couch, holding the cordless phone to my ear. Oh, the irony.

"Hi," I said sleepily. Sam laughed brightly.

"Aren't you awake yet?" she teased.

"Uh, heck no!" I growled. Another laugh.

"Well, my parents just want me to tell you that, if you ever want to go on a trail ride, give me a call. I can show you some really neat places around here."

I sighed mentally. How about, hell no?

"Um, thanks Sam, I'll give you a call when I feel up to it."

"No problem, I know since you just moved here you have to settle in and all. Anyways, I gotta go do chores, so talk to you later!" A click signaled that she had hung up.

I replaced the phone back in its proper place and trudged back to my room, knowing I had many chores to complete and I needed to prepare myself for the long day ahead. We only owned one Arabian stallion and two Arabian mares for breeding since we were just starting out. My mom, dad, and I each had our own riding horses. Mom's was a flashy dun Paint gelding, a Pinto to be specific, named El Dorado, or Dorado for short. My dad had his gray Morgan gelding, Back In A Flash, aka Flash, to ride as he pleased. And of course, I had Spirit. Which meant, our little family of three had to take complete care of six horses.

And my mom wasn't even going to help today, because it was her turn to make breakfast. So that left two of us to feed, water, turn out or bring in, groom, and clean out the stalls of those six horses. Not to mention that every time we used a piece of tack we had to clean it, and once a day sweep the barn aisles…

Just fantastic. I missed having the luxury of a groom. I couldn't wait to get some new stablehand so I could sleep in an hour every day. And then on the weekends…

My pleasant daydreaming was interrupted by a loud knocking on my door. I quickly finished sliding on my old jeans and swung the door open. My dad smiled at me brightly.

"The horses are waiting. I'll get the stallion and the broodmares, you can take care of everyone else." He turned away before suddenly spinning to fixate on me with stern, golden eyes. "And when I say take care of them, I mean thoroughly." I gave him a steady stare, nonchalant. I knew that. I wasn't going to skimp out on my chores, even if I was in a bad mood and irritated from lack of sleep. In fact, it just irritated me further to know that he thought so lowly of me.

He turned away slowly, his steps heavy, deliberate, but becoming quicker and lighter as he neared the door and walked outside. I was a bit flustered, not only from my father's seemingly low respect for me, but also from the fact that everyone I knew around here was so freaking happy to get up at the crack of dawn every morning. Maybe that was normal in Nevada, I decided with a sigh, grabbing my jacket and following my dad out the door.

I stepped outside and the noticed that the skies were clear of any clouds and, off in the horizon to the east, the sun had just cleared a low mountain range, sending brilliant rays of pink and gold across the desert landscape. It was actually kind of beautiful. Okay, it was stunning, but I still ached for my home, so far away in the rolling hills of California.

I headed towards the barn to begin my chores, my fingers already aching from the bitter cold. These mornings were going to be the death of me when school started up.

* * *

The next several days passed by quickly, despite my unpleasant attitude towards--well, basically everything. Christmas was uneventful, and on New Year's Eve I faked a horrible headache to get out of seeing the Forster's for a party. I rode Spirit for the first time after my dad had free lunged her to get any "freshness," as he so lightly put it, out of her. As always, though, Spirit was quiet as a mouse, and the only sign she might have some extra energy was a toss of her head.

Normally, when I occasionally rode Spirit, my mom liked to come outside and watch, or rather, fuss at me to get her to trot. And as always, I would stubbornly ignore her directions and keep doing exercises at the walk. Luckily, for my first ride, she hadn't made a peep as she supervised me in the little round corral I had set up with cow pen panels. But I knew that next time she'd be asking for more, and I'd have to tune it out.

School was starting in two days, on a Tuesday, thank goodness, the day I rode Spirit. As I was putting her out to one of our big pastures, I saw a truck roll up our drive that was not ours. Curious, I scurried to put Spirit out and left my tack lying out. I'd clean it up in a few minutes, I decided, after figuring out who this visitor was.

I entered the house and made an excuse, saying I was starving and wanted a snack before cleaning my equipment. I grabbed a banana to satisfy my fictional hunger. However, as I was opening the door once more and hoping to catch a glimpse of this stranger on my way out, I was shocked to see Will on the other side of the doorway.

After a quick glance into his eyes, I muttered, "Excuse me," and deftly sidestepped him, resisting the urge to run to the barn. I was a bit embarrassed about my behavior from the last time I'd run into him, and I wasn't exactly excited to see him once again.

I groaned as I stumbled upon another realization. He was probably going to Darton High, too. Ugh. This just kept getting better, didn't it? Maybe he'd just ignore me if we had any classes together, and considering how antisocial I was, that'd be pretty easy. Problem solved, right?

My stomach still twisted into little knots, not eased by my logical conclusion I'd reached as I entered the barn. Almost subconsciously, I began nibbling on the banana. When I became aware of what I was doing, I remembered that this was a nervous habit. With a disgusted snort, I threw the banana away into a little trash can. There was no reason to be self-conscious about a boy, I reminded myself harshly.

Even if he was pretty good-looking.

* * *

"And here's your schedule, Miss Weston," the lady said in a maternal manner. "There's a map in there, too, as well as that envelop with all the forms you need to have filled out, signed, and returned within ten days. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," I replied.

"You have a great first day," she called out as I left the office. I checked my watch, not wanting to look around like an idiot for a clock that may or may not be in the hallway. I noticed that there were about two minutes until the warning bell. That left me some extra time to find my first class, which I noticed with a smug little smile, was Spanish II.

Now then, I'm no Spanish fanatic, but I wasn't half bad at learning new languages. I even knew some rudimentary French that I had picked up when my grandparents had visited Paris a few years back and taken me with them. I was a bit of a natural, so hopefully, this would be an easy-ish way to start the mornings.

I figured out where my classroom was, at the back of the school, and entered with about four minutes before the tardy bell, earlier than most students. I steeled myself to talk to the teacher, who, from the schedule in my hand, appeared to be Ms. Grady. Or Mrs., heck if I knew.

She turned around to see me just in time. "Oh!" she said in a bit of surprise, quickly composing herself. "I'm Ms. Grady. Spanish II, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said in a sugary tone. She gave me a few papers, explained the main points, and explained that if I needed help adjusting to the new curriculum, just to ask for help before school. I listened passively before going to my assigned seat, feeling on edge. I didn't know anyone here, none at all. I felt vulnerable as I took off my coat to hang on the coat rack, which revealed my bright yellow cardigan. I looked around at everyone who seemed to be dressed in shades of gray compared to my bright shirt. Great way to blend in, I thought sarcastically to myself.

I felt a bit better, though, when a girl strode into the room only seconds before the bell rang. She had long, coffee-colored hair, perfectly straightened down to her elbows, parted to the side. It was unbelievably shiny, shimmering underneath the fluorescent lighting. She wore a lot of makeup and her lips were pursed in what appeared to be a pout. Her clothes also appeared to be of designer origin, elaborate and stand-outs. Good, she was more noticeable than I was. Much more noticeable.

However, I was a bit unhappy as she took her assigned seat, right next to me. I stared down at the forms I'd received from Ms. Grady, trying to appear immensely interested in them. But the girl tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" she asked in a voice that lilted with a British accent. I glanced at her brown eyes and nodded casually before turning back to my papers.

"I'm Rachel Slocum," she said, as though it were supposed to mean something significant. "I'm a junior this year. Are you a freshman?" Do I _look _like a freshman?

"No."

"Sophomore?" Score one for Sherlock's even wittier alter ego.

"Yup."

"What's your name? You wouldn't believe how many people are talking about you. We don't get many new students out here."

"Lia," I said a bit primly, not liking the vibe this girl was radiating off of herself. "Lia Weston."

"Nice to meet you, Lia," she said in her smooth voice. The teacher began speaking up, thank goodness, which gave me a good excuse to pull out a notebook to take notes and focus on something other than Rachel. She just gave me the strangest vibe…

Spanish passed by uneventfully after that, and we were studying something we had just finished back in California, which was good, even if a little boring. It was better than the alternative.

I made my why to my next class, Algebra II, and was almost late trying to figure out where it was. My teacher, Mrs. Granger, seemed a bit like the overly-nice type as she gave me some instructions. From the opposite side of the room, I recognized Sam, and she waved at me with a bright smile on her tanned face. I prayed I would get a seat next to her, so I would at least know _somebody _in this place.

As I continued to scan the area, I was disappointed to see what appeared to be half freshmen and half sophomores, and groaned mentally. Back home, I had been a year ahead in math, taking an advanced Algebra II course. However, I had changed to a non-honors Algebra II course for this semester, and suddenly remembered that the school system did things a bit differently here. I was taking a math course intended for the "average" sophomore and advanced freshmen population, because most people didn't take geometry until their junior year. I had taken it as a freshmen.

I felt belittled as I took my seat surrounded by several immature boys, freshmen or not, it didn't matter. I was further disgruntled by the fact that Sam was all the way across the room, and almost mad when of the said immature boys accidentally clonked me in the head with a wad of paper.

"Oh, sorry," he said earnestly. He then looked me in the eye. "Hey, you're the new girl. What's your name?"

"Lia." He introduced himself as Leo and pointed out all of his friends: Cyrus, Elliot, and Graham. Graham turned out to be the only sophomore, but was probably the most immature. Even as the tardy bell rang and the last couple of students raced in, he continued throwing paper across the room to his other buddies. I sighed and let my head fall to my desk before an oddly familiar voice spoke to me.

"Huh, I didn't know you were a sophomore." Glancing up, I saw Will's aquamarine eyes. He took the empty seat behind me.

"Yeah," I said softly, keeping my eyes on the notes Mrs. Granger had passed out. I wasn't exactly eager to talk to him--okay, I was, but I was seriously afraid to make yet _another _bad impression on him. However, I managed to muster up enough guts to ask the question that was burning in my brain, "By the way, why were you at my house the other day?"

He chuckled, a bright sound. "I was checking some fence-line for your parents."

"Stalker," I muttered, the turned around and managed a small, teasing smile. Will returned the gesture, but it was a tentative expression. Graham let out a low whistle.

"Will, you stalk girls?" Graham chortled. I managed to refrain from blushing as I turned back around and glanced over more papers.

"Oh, shut up, Graham," he hissed. "You're so annoying."

"Only because I'm _right_," he said matter-of-factly. I rolled my eyes, but he couldn't see.

Thankfully, I was saved, because Mrs. Granger began with the lesson. I was glad that math was my best subject. I picked up on the new lesson almost instantly, and felt some relief. Maybe school wouldn't be so torturous after all.

However, it seemed that most people in the class didn't share my viewpoint on the subject, I observed, as most of the students immediately began asking their neighbors for help on the homework our teacher had left us to start working on for next class. Will tapped me on the shoulder as I was in the middle of the first problem.

"I never got a chance to warn you--I'll be over at your house a lot more now," he stated.

"Why?" I asked warily.

"Jake and I are going to build a new little turnout for that stallion of yours," he said simply.

I shrugged. "Well that's… nice of you guys."

"Wow, Lia, I think that was actually a compliment coming from you," he responded seriously, but a pleased smile played upon his lips. I managed a small smile back at him.

"You learn fast, Sherlock. I think that's your third point. Impressive."

"Do I win anything for that?"

"Sure."

"Like…?"

"My undying astonishment at how you recognize the obvious."

He let out a little laugh and I smiled brightly. I hadn't expected talking to him to be so simple. It was a nice change; I usually found conversations with people other than my closest friends to be difficult.

"I was thinking more like, a cookie or something." I rolled my eyes.

"No way."

"Okay, then can youexplain to me how to do this math?"

"You don't get this?" I asked, blinking several times in astonishment.

"Math is my worst subject. I have a 'D' in here."

"Oh. Well, first off, if you combine those two terms," I said, pointing, "it makes this a whole lot easier."

"Smarty pants," I heard Leo grumble. I allowed myself a proud little smirk, then continued to instruct Will. I supposed that I was worried for nothing as we finished class, and it felt nice to have that weight lifted off my shoulders.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. After math, I went off to history, which was being taught by a nice lady named Mrs. Ely, who was, if you haven't made the connection yet, Jake's mother. Although I knew this class was going to be difficult for me, Mrs. Ely seemed like a good teacher. My only problem was that Rachel was in this class with me. Next was my computer class, and I met a girl named Cory who offered to let me sit with her and her friends at lunch. Turns out, one of those friends was Sam. Our table consisted of Sam, Cory, another girl named Jen, and three boys: Braxton, Arthur, and Darius. After the initial introductions, I mainly stayed quiet while they all chatted effortlessly, but I didn't mind. There conversations were interesting, and I felt perfectly comfortable in my silence.

After lunch, I headed off the chemistry, which was being taught by a psychotic man named Mr. Becker. His jerky actions sometimes made me jump a little, and he spoke so quickly that I had a difficult time keeping up. Next was English, the subject I had the most difficulty in back home, which is ironic because I adored reading and had a strange passion for writing. Mr. Tierney, a demanding yet humorous man, let me take it easy, and I was relieved.

Lastly, I had my theatre class, which Will actually escorted me to, because he was taking it with me. A strange class for a quiet girl like myself, but I had taken it back home to receive my fine arts credit. I had actually come to love acting, and it was the only class the entire day where, as I introduced myself in front of everyone, it felt natural to be the stand out, with my unusual hair cut, owl-like eyes, and bright yellow cardigan. As we were doing our acting exercises, led by our teacher, Mrs. Tucker. I noticed that Will kept glancing over at me, as though he were confused to my sudden change in personality.

The bus drive home was long, but not too bad. The temperature had risen to forty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun shone across the barren landscape, making the bus almost warm. As Sam hopped off at her stop, I saw a herd of wild Mustangs just a mile away, mesmerizing my eyes and making my heart dance. It was possibly the most wonderful thing I'd ever witnessed, and I realized, with warmth flooding through my chest, that I wouldn't mind calling this place of the wild horses home.


	3. Sherlock Has Scored Again

Read&Review

There will be SAKE starting this chapter (just a little)! *pause for applause* Yaaay!

Also, I forgot to mention in my earlier chapters that yes, little Cody is in this story, but I forgot to put him in here. Oh well, just please bear with me! From now on, I won't forget him, if need be…

Oh, and if you reviewed chapter 2, I'm posting replies to your reviews! Yippee!

Wild Cowgirl 16: **Thank you!**

**God'srider: **Thank you as well!

**Fancy Girl Haflinger: **Ahhhh no one's died yet have they?! Ha ha just kidding….

**livandletliv: **Sometimes I have a hard time working with characters that aren't my own :P but I'm really going to try and incorporate them as best I can. Next chapter, however, is when all the real "character integrating" begins.

The first week of school passed by quickly. I continued to sit with Sam's group at lunch and they chatted while I listened with more interest than even I expected to have. However, at lunch on Friday, Sam directed the conversation towards me, and it was on a rather unpleasant subject.

"Hey, the weather's supposed to be a bit warmer today," she said eagerly. My gut twisting into knots warned me that she was about to bring up what I didn't _want _brought up. "Jen and I are going on a ride out to War Drum Flats. You wanna join us?" Jen looked at me from behind her owlish glasses, her stare steady but seemingly unaffected by my decision. I quickly shook my head.

"Oh, no thanks, I have this pile of homework I have to get through," I replied, feeling everyone's eyes on me. Sam arched an eyebrow in speculation, but didn't push it further.

"Really?" Jen asked skeptically. "The way you zoned out in History today, I would think that schoolwork isn't exactly your first priority. And besides, it's Friday." Jen's comment was amazingly introspective, and her blue eyes turned icy as she stared at me. I felt myself wanting to shrink beneath her gaze, but instead gave her a bit of a glare. Her tone, if not the words themselves, had been almost… rude.

"I have to finish my homework tonight," I said testily. "I have other things to do this weekend."

"Such as…?" she countered.

"I think my parents want me to help work on the new pen Jake and Will are building for our stallion," I said, not sure if Jen knew Will, but since Sam had proclaimed her as her best friend, I figured she would know him as well as Sam did. And I'd seen Jen and Jake's constant little squabbles in the hallways, so obviously they were well acquainted.

"You _think_," Jen sneered. I looked down at my hands.

"They've been hinting at it. It wouldn't surprise me."

"Jen, back off," Sam reprimanded gently, giving me an apologetic glance. Her tone was surprised. I'd only known Jen a week, but this behavior seemed out of the norm for her. I might've been as surprised as everyone else at the table seemed to be. An awkward silence fell over us, until Cory brought up something about going to Darton High's basketball game tonight. She invited me, and I repeated my homework excuse, which she accepted a lot more readily than Jen had.

At the end of the day, I was making my usual route to the bus waiting outside the school building. The sky was a beautiful blue, completely cloud-free, and the air didn't have the same bite to it that had been around the past several weeks. Sam and Jen were getting a ride home from someone that day, so I was going to be riding the bus alone. With a sigh, I began boarding, only to be tapped on the shoulder and nearly fall over backwards on the bus's steps trying to turn around and identify who it was.

"Graceful," Will laughed. I narrowed my eyes and pushed my bedraggled bangs away from my face as I recovered myself.

"I thought you didn't ride the bus?" I asked, ignoring his comment.

"My brother usually takes me home, but he went home early today 'cause he wasn't feeling well. So I got stuck without a ride."

"Oh." I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. We slid into the same seat, and I leaned against the window, letting my eyes close and trying to sort out, as I sifted through the memories, where Jen's attitude problem at lunch had come from.

"Tired?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Just thinking."

"About what?" I opened my eyes swiftly but didn't move another muscle.

"Why do you pry so much?"

"Just curious." He shrugged nonchalantly. "You're new here, you're interesting."

"Good to know," I spat sarcastically. "You make me feel like some sort of specimen to observe."

"Sorry."

I let a pent up breath _whoosh _out through my lips. "I think I'm in a bit of a bad mood. I should be sorry."

"You were fine just now, in theatre."

"I like theatre."

"No." I gave him a curious look, and he chuckled softly. "You're this whole different person in there. You talk to everyone, you're outspoken, and you look like you enjoy acting, unlike me, who's in it just to get the fine arts credit." I felt my mouth form an "O" in shock. How in the world could a boy be that perceptive?

"Okay, I _really _like theatre. And it distracted me. But now I'm not distracted, and I'm in a bit of a bad mood."

"And I'm not supposed to ask why."

"Point four." I gave him a half smile as the bus began rolling off the school grounds, closed my eyes, and we rested in a short, comfortable silence until we came to his stop.

"Bye," he announced, getting up. I opened my eyes in acknowledgement and waved. I was afraid I might fall asleep; I'd been pretty close before he'd spoken to me, so I sat up a bit straighter and turned my eyes to the world outside my window.

A loud gasp escaped my lips. He lived _here_?!

A short driveway, which he was now walking down, bordered by fancy stones that almost shimmered in the sunlight in their various deep shades, led the way to the gate, which appeared to be electronic. The gate was wrought-iron like the rest of the fence, in a picture-perfect shade of ivory-white. The path continued a little longer until it split, one trail leading to a different little gate that was hidden in the fence that surrounded the house's backyard, and the other to his front doorstep. The house was enormous, almost a mansion.

I continued to stare as the bus driver lectured some students up front, giving me more time to analyze the house. It was the same ivory color as the fence, with large columns in the front and a set of French doors at the entry. It was two stories high, with an unbelievable amount of windows. The ones on the first floor had matching mahogany--or so it appeared--shutters, a surprisingly beautiful contrast to the off-white color of the house. There was a separate garage nearby, bigger than my _house_.

The driver finally quit yelling and started the bus back up again. I allowed myself one last glance at the property, and noticed that a man in--was he really a suit?--open to door as Will climbed up the white marble steps.

Although many questions were swirling around in my head now, the one that burned the most was this: if Will had so much money, why didn't he have his own horse?

***

"You're such a pain, Jake," Sam said in a huff, setting down her bucket angrily. I glanced at them for a moment, then returned to my work, hammering away into the fence post. At the other end of what was beginning to become a turnout area, Will was also hammering.

And of course, for the second time today, Jake and Sam had abandoned the work so they could have another argument. Will told me that, despite the fact that the two were best friends and constantly picked on each other, this amount of actual arguing was very unusual. He wasn't sure what to make of it, either.

"Am I, Brat?" Jake replied lazily. Sam's shoulder-length auburn hair waved wildly in the wind, giving her the appearance of a fierce warrior.

"Yes," she spat. "You can't ever just leave me be! You're more protective than my father--and that's saying something! Why don't you trust me?"

"You tend to get yourself in trouble." Jake's voice was no longer lazy; there was a sharp edge to it now. I tried to ignore them and keep hammering on the fence, but they weren't working, and they were starting to get loud.

"I can handle myself, Jake!" Sam exclaimed, and as I looked up, she shoved Jake's chest, which of course barely moved the towering boy an inch. He glowered at her, then grabbed her shoulders roughly. I was almost afraid he would hurt her, but he just began to speak in a low, rough voice.

"I can't let you do that," he said quietly. The only reason I could hear him was because the wind carried his voice to me, and I listened to intently, stopping my work. "Every time you decide to 'save the day', Samantha, you get yourself in trouble. Do you know how many times--" there was a pause, "how many times I've heard you were out on the range pulling a crazy stunt, and I nearly had a heart attack? Can't you see why I can't let you do this?"

A long pause followed, and Jake's arms stayed where they were as they stared each other in the eyes. Sam opened her mouth, but no words came out. Another few silent moments passed. Then, without warning, Sam wrapped her arms around Jake's torso in a hug. After a moment of shock, Jake hugged her back. Feeling intrusive, I went back to hammering, but with a sneaky little smile on my face as they stood there for quite a while.

Good friends, even best friends, usually didn't stay in a hug longer than sixty seconds.

When they finally let go of each other and started up their work again, I noticed that they were talking in friendly voices now. I sighed in relief. Now we could get some work done, and they were enjoying each other's company. Sam had claimed that the only reason she had come to help Jake, Will, and I with building the turnout was because her parents had told her to do so. But as I saw the tall, dark-skinned boy with raven-black hair looking over at the pretty, slight, auburn-haired girl, I felt fairly certain that she had an entirely different reason for coming.

After several hours of hard work, my mother came outside to let us know it was time to call it quits and invite the guests in for hot chocolate. My fingers ached from the cold and all the hammering, but on the bright side, the turnout was already about a third of the way complete

We gathered in the living room, gladly accepting the hot chocolate my mom distributed before squishing together on our single little couch. I suppressed a giggle, because there wasn't really enough room for four. I glanced towards the old love seat, where my dad sat, quietly reading over the local newspaper. I understood why no one wanted to share it with him; talk about odd one out.

I was squished between Sam and Will, while Jake sat on the opposite side of Sam. Although everyone acted like they were watching the television show, _The Corporation_, that was on, I noticed that Sam was getting drowsy, and Jake looked far away. After one full episode, Sam sank into sleep, a soft snore coming from her mouth. She drooped against Jake's shoulder, and he looked perfectly cozy there. Obviously, he didn't mind being squished on the couch next to _her_, and the thought accidentally made a snort come from my nose. I covered my mouth in embarrassment as Jake glanced over suspiciously and Will laughed out loud.

"That wasn't a funny part," Will scoffed.

"It just… reminded me of something funny," I lied lamely. Neither of the boys appeared satisfied with my answer, so I gave them my best, I'm-serious-so-what's-your-problem look. I'll have to admit, even for the "non-actors" in the room, it was probably pretty unconvincing.

Another episode later, Jake announced that he should probably take Sam home. He woke up a sleepy Sam and left, steadying her as they trudged to his truck. As soon as they were out the front door and Will and I were alone with my dad, I let out a long "Awww."

Will laughed, clearly understanding as a pleasant silence fell over us. I walked him to his truck out of courtesy and waved goodbye to Sam and Jake as they drove away, screaming "Thank you!" I got a wave from Jake's arm out the open window.

"Thanks for helping," I said softly as Will unlocked his shiny truck's door.

"No problem, thanks for helping _us_," he replied breezily as I traced a pattern on his truck's shiny navy blue paintjob, picture perfect like his house.Upon further inspection, I also discovered that it was a King Ranch edition. I couldn't suppress my curiosity any longer about this boy's vast amount of wealth.

"You know, you never bothered to tell me you were filthy rich," I blurted out suddenly, then looked up apologetically, hoping I didn't sound _too _rude. He shrugged.

"You never told me you were afraid of riding in general, but I figured that out on my own." I felt my heart stutter a couple of unsteady beats, felt the blood flush my face, felt my eyes narrow, and felt the anger bubbling in my throat as my hand twitched towards his truck door, ready to shut it towards him and give him a nice bruise or two.

It took him a couple of moments to read my face, and he frowned. "I'm--"

"Going home," I finished for him angrily. "I'm _not _afraid of riding. I just don't trail ride. And you better keep that piece of information to yourself!" I crossed my arms stubbornly and flashed him my best glare.

"I don't care how mad you are, but it's time to face it: you're afraid to ride _period_. The way you're acting proves it."

"Proves _what_?!"

"That you're afraid."

"Am not."

"Lia, I'm a bit more perceptive than you think."

"I can't talk about this." My voice was deflated, all anger displaced by a heaviness in my heart.

"I could help you. Sam was once in a bad riding accident, you know. She could help you, too. And Jake's a great rider and might be willing to give you some tips. Come on, Lia." His voice pleaded, and his eyes grew unbearably soft. "Give me--I mean us--a chance."

I stared at my dusty boots intently. No one had ever offered me help like that--yes, my mother and father had tried to help, my friends in California, and my old endurance riding coach had all tried--but they'd never flat out said they could help me. They'd never even bothered to ask permission. They'd all been indirect, thinking it was better not to come head-on with the problem. So Will's flat-out accusation had caught me off guard, and of course I was angry about that. But as I chewed over it, I realized I was more mad at myself than anything, for not being able to admit to anyone that, yes, I was afraid. I was scared to death of truly riding a horse. And the more I mulled over it, the more I realized that I was simply waiting for someone to say they could help me, for someone to directly take charge.

"Okay." He appeared astounded.

"You'll really let us help you?" I nodded, embarrassed. Will grinned. "Sherlock has scored again." I shook my head in amusement.

"You can all come over tomorrow around noon. I'll call Sam and you can ask Jake."

"Sure." He looked indecisive for a moment before giving me a hug, which I didn't return. "And I'll get here early, so I can tell you about Sam. I think it'll… help you understand."

"She won't mind?"

"No. Honestly, she won't; just don't bring it up if you don't have to. She may even mention it herself."

He climbed in, waved, and I turned back to the house, feeling a little tipsy. I might get over my fear of going faster than a walk on horseback.

And to be honest, I'd loved that he'd hugged me. Which scared me more than the fact that I might be made to gallop around on a horse tomorrow.


	4. Turns Out I Couldn't Trust You

**Read&Review**

**So I realized something interesting as I wrote this. I made Lia sound like she's a vegetarian vampire from Twilight--amber eyes, super pale skin--all that's missing is sparkles. Glitter glue, anyone? :P**

**I also typed up this chapter really fast. Let me know if it's not up to par. Not much happens here, but more to come!**

"You need to relax, Lia," Sam told me calmly. Hadn't she said that a thousand times already? Three weeks had gone by, and we'd made no progress. I still couldn't even pick up a jog. I would reach my breaking point and dismount, saying I didn't want to. Sam had done groundwork with Spirit and I as well, with some Native American techniques Jake had taught her. She had a secret name now--Mzuri, pronounced "M-zuh-ree". Jake said that having a secret name would always keep her bound to me, and although the whole thing sounded hokey, I had obliged. After all, I had fun making up a wacky name no one could ever figure

But now, Jake and Will had joined Sam and I today, which was rare, so I figured that Sam had all the witnesses around as encouragement. It wasn't working so far; I did not particularly enjoy having an audience.

"I'm relaxed!" I exclaimed in exasperation. Spirit's ears flicked back towards me, and Sam shook her head in disagreement.

"No, you're not," she said in the same soothing tone. "Now, just concentrate on relaxing individual parts of your body, from your toes to the top of your head."

"The top of my head," I repeated in disbelief.

"Trust me." I concentrated on breathing deeply and relaxing individual muscles just as Sam had said. She smiled in approval. "Now, ask for a jog."

Every muscle in my body stiffened, but I asked--tentatively. Spirit went forward in a snail's pace jog, a little stiff from the fact that I never asked her for this. And, it was possible that I sort of forgot how to properly sit a horse's jog.

"Relax," Sam urged, following me as I circled around her in the little makeshift round pen. I tried, but I couldn't find the rhythm. Spirit settled into a walk after a lap, letting out a little snort probably aimed at her incompetent rider.

"Don't let her stop!" Sam called out.

"I can't sit to that."

"You'll remember how to after a while of doing it. Keep going!" With a sigh, I obeyed, and Spirit went forward into a nicely working jog. It took me about four more laps, but finally, I seemed to click, finding the rhythm and riding like I'd never stopped. I grinned.

"Alright, let's go the other direction," Sam said, but her voice was bright, like she might be as excited as I was.

"It's a shame," Jake said, just loud enough to reach my ears. I sat for a walk and halted, staring at him incredulously. Will, who had been watching outside the pen like Jake, and Sam both followed my lead.

"What is?" I asked tersely.

"That you ever stopped truly riding," he responded lazily. "After all, you've only been _sitting _on that horse for the time you've owned her. You have one of the best riding positions I've seen in a while." I blushed at the compliment from the soft-spoken cowboy.

"He's right," Sam admitted, almost sounding rueful. Her tone surprised me, but I put it out of my mind.

"At a jog, yes," Will said, sounding bored, "but could she keep that up outside this little pen? At a lope or a gallop?" I felt my jaw drop.

"Will.." Sam warned. "She doesn't have to do that today if she doesn't want to. We can do that next time." Her words echoed in my head. She said that every session, and the phrase suddenly played through my head in broken fragments, driving me mad: "Next time… Next time… She doesn't have to… Next time…"

My eyes narrowed, and Will tipped his head at a bit cockily, arching his eyebrow. "This is an accomplishment for you, of course Lia, but you understand that this is _nothing _compared to a normal rider." Ouch. His condescending tone made me want to slap him.

"Will, back off," Jake drawled. I sent Spirit swiftly into a large trot in the pen, adrenaline pulsing through my veins. I had to do this, I had to do this, I had to. The sake of my pride depended on it.

And in the instant I sat down and put my outside leg back, with my heart now in my throat, Spirit moved into a fluid western lope, although I was so out of practice that it was difficult for me to sit. Sam stood in the center, a little smile on her face. I caught a glimpse of Jake's expression as he stood on the rail, his face only slightly bewildered. Will's expression stayed cocky, and I focused with all my might on finding Spirit's stride.

Several laps later, I was sitting her like an old pro again. I checked Will's face again, and to my surprise, he grinned cheerily and began applauding. I let out a true cowgirl yell and laughed at how ridiculous I sounded. I was doing this like I'd never had the accident, and as I slowed to a bouncy trot, I felt my face flush with accomplishment and had the strangest sensation of flying.

"Wow," Sam said in awe. "Maybe we should just provoke you more often." I let out a little laugh at that as I slowed to a walk, giving Spirit lots of pats on the neck. "Sure works a lot faster than what I was trying to do."

"Aw, Sam, you're doing fine," I reassured her, and her face brightened up just a little. Will had told me her story--falling off a young horse, getting hospitalized after being kicked in the head, sent away to live in the city for two years so she could live down the street from a hospital--it seemed like such a surreal event. But the way Sam seemed to know my every fear and what I was thinking as I rode was partial proof, because she had been through that disaster and understood.

After letting Spirit cool out at a walk, we all headed inside the barn. I untacked Spirit quickly and began grooming her while Sam, Jake, and Will chatted. I was silently cheering in my little personal victory. However, when Sam and Jake headed back to Sam's place to work with a horse, I remembered something.

As Will sat on a hay bale and tried to take a little nap while letting me finish my work, I smiled mischievously and smacked him across the cheek. He woke with a start and rubbed his cheek.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"For your conceited little attitude earlier," I responded simply. "I just remembered that I wanted to smack you then, but I was on Spirit, so I saved the thought for later. And…" I began laughing just a little, "it was perfect timing. The expression on your face, oh my gosh, that was--"

He cut me off by jumping up and covering my mouth with his hand. My heart hammered at the proximity, but he gave me a glare. "You thought that was funny, did you?" he said menacingly. I felt myself shrinking.

"Well, I mean--" I tried to say, but the sound was muffled.

"No," he cut me off sharply. "_This _is funny." Suddenly, with more strength than I imagined his possessed, he picked me up like a rag doll and tossed my over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" I exclaimed, but understanding he was joking now. He chuckled.

"Nope. Payback time."

"My slap _was _payback."

"I like to be one point ahead."

"At this rate, you're losing points, Sherlock. Now you only have two."

"This'll be worth it." I peeked around his shoulder and gasped when I saw his target.

"You wouldn't dare," I hissed. "It's January, for crying out loud!"

"Oh, but I would." I began kicking and protesting as we neared the water trough, but just when I was sure I was losing the fight and was bracing for the freezing water, he pulled me back and I landed on my rear in the dirt. He began to laugh hysterically as though the whole thing was hilarious, and I began laughing along with him at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Elementary, my dear Watson," Will said in horrible British accent. "Elementary. I was simply being a jerk because, knowing you, it would provoke you. And of course, my brilliant plan worked."

"You." I panted, trying to relieve the ache in my stomach from laughing so much. "You. Suck."

"I can dump you in that trough for real."

"And lose my help in math? You wouldn't chance it." He sighed dramatically, lent me a hand so I could stand, and spoke.

"Fair enough, my lady." I laughed at the bad accent.

After Will left, I decided to have a truly lazy Saturday. I flopped onto our living room couch after a quick lunch and taking off my boots. I flipped through the channels, found a cheesy comedy, and became lost in my own thoughts, reflecting on many topics.

The first and foremost subject that came to mind was, obviously, my little achievement. I couldn't believe that I had so willingly started loping around the little pen. Then again, I knew Will's plan had been good. I was easily provoked by stupid dares and teasing; I had a lot of pride. And now, it was shining through, which wasn't necessarily always a good thing, but it overshadowed my fears, which was important for now.

But then my thoughts drifted to Will. I didn't want to fall for him, but I was in so deep already. I felt sparks when he touched me. I loved to hear his voice, soft but clear. Every time I became angry with him, I hated myself for it. I adored his pale blue eyes and was tempted to touch his black and brown/red-in-the-sunlight hair, to see if it was as soft as it looked. I liked his sense of humor, even if he was picking on me; I didn't truly mind it that much.

However, the strangest thing about all of this was not only the intensity of my emotions when he was around, but also how chatty I became around him. It wasn't a nervous kind of talking; this was different. Words just flowed, filled the empty space between us, let me hear his voice. I felt stupid, saying I liked the sound of his voice, but it was true. And the way he always looked me in the eye as he spoke, steady and interested, made me want to melt. I couldn't stop thinking about those pretty blue eyes.

As I continued to lie there, I realized that I was only setting myself up for the hurt again. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force the memories away, but as I fell asleep, they came to me with perfect clarity.

_I heard the metallic clanging of my body against the row of lockers louder than I heard my yelp of pain. Vincent stared me down with his brown eyes, once so warm and inviting, now angry and dull. I tried to squirm away, but he pinned me down._

"_You said you loved me," he hissed._

"_I guess I lied," I squeaked. "Sorry."_

"_Sorry?" he roared. "All you ever do is mope around, and I had to put up with it all. You chose a dead horse over _me_."_

"_No!" I whispered fiercely, shaking my head. "I never did that. I was just upset, and then you told everyone about--"_

"_Well the fact that you refused so much as to make out with me after your horse died, let alone go all the way, probably gives me some leeway, huh?"_

"_We're freshmen, Vincent!" I cried out desperately. "I've never wanted to go all the way with you."_

"_Yet you said you loved me."_

"_I felt pressured," I admitted, ashamed. "You shouldn't have told the whole school that lie. Now everyone thinks I'm a total slut!"_

"_Serves you right!" he exclaimed. "But I figured it was going to be true enough soon. 'Course now, I've realized you don't care about that."_

"_Vincent, we're through!" I screamed, shoving him back with more force than I thought possible. He stumbled back a few steps, looking surprised. "I trusted you, and turns out I couldn't trust you. And then, when everything is going wrong for me, you don't care. All you ever wanted was some action! Well, fine by me. I don't care anymore, but you're not having sex with ME!" I ran out the school building, grabbing my bike and pedaling towards an empty plot of land I liked to escape to, tears streaming down my face and my hurt burning._

_When I was safely hidden in that spot, I let my bike tumble to the ground and cried my heart out._

I woke with a start, realizing I had slept for only an hour. My parents were talking quietly in the kitchen, and I tried to suppress the memories. I felt feverish and my heart couldn't stop racing. I checked my cheeks for tears, relieved that there were no real ones. It had felt so real, like I'd gone back in time; it was disorienting, and I wasn't sure what to do now.

I checked the clock hanging on the wall. Four o' two. Afraid I'd fall asleep again, I decided to go out to the barn and prepare the horses' dinner, even though that was usually a combined effort, and we didn't usually feed until five. But it would give me something to do, and I would trade the effort any time for that horrible memory.

I fed the horses early, at four thirty, and my dad thanked me loads, glad he could go watch his football game in the living room. Feeling like a moron with nothing better to do, I decided that maybe I should start some homework, maybe get ahead. I groaned. Of course _I _would be the one who staying in her room on a Saturday evening, doing homework. How entirely lame.

I managed to finish all of my homework due Monday by nine o'clock, and felt a bit secretly satisfied. Maybe tomorrow, I could give some of the horses a real good grooming, maybe ask Sam if she'd like to go on a trail ride. For the first time in over a year, I was excited to explore a new place on horseback. Terrified, certainly, but liking the prospect. Maybe I'd call her tomorrow, after church, and Jen could come, too, and anyone else…

"Lia!" my mother called from the kitchen. I peeked my head out of my room.

"Yeah mom?" I called back.

"Phone for you!"

"Who?"

"Willis. Now get in here!" I darted towards the phone, but felt my brow crumple in puzzlement as I said, "Hello?"

"Hey, Lia," he said pleasantly, but sounding a bit formal. "I know it's late, but I wanted to ask you something, and I was afraid I'd forget if I didn't call when I thought of it just now."

"Fire away."

"You know the winter dance next Saturday?" My heart pounded wildly in my chest, begging for two different things. I felt torn.

"Yeah," I responded, hoping I seemed casual. Wouldn't want to give him an incorrect--or possibly correct--impression.

"Well, my friends and I are going as a group. If you don't have anyone to go with, you could come with us. I'm picking everyone up." As he finished, I felt both relieved and disappointed. Odd, to be feeling to different things, to want two different things. Yes, I wished he asked me, but I knew it was really for the best…

"I'm not sure if I'm going, but thanks," I said carefully. "Who exactly are your friends?"

"Well, Sam _was _part of our group, but Jake already asked her as a date, and then Jen's going with Ryan Slocum--I don't think you know him--so I just asked Braxton, who you know, Graham from math, and a girl you probably don't know. She's a junior named Mel."

"Wait, wait, wait--Jake asked Sam?"

"Finally, yes," he said.

"Oh, wow! That's great! I knew it!"

"_Everyone _knew they'd crack eventually," he teased. "Jen even told me they'd been secretly dating for like the past two months. Not really a surprise, except now they have to break it to Mr. Forster."

"Overly-protective father?"

"Even Jake's terrified of him."

"No wonder it's been kept a secret."

"That, and Jake didn't want to attract attention. You know how he is."

"True. Well, I'll think about what you said."

"Alright. See you Monday."

"Bye." I placed the phone in its cradle and sighed. Why was he so darn easy to talk to? People were going to start noticing how social I was around him. But I couldn't stop myself; it felt natural, like breathing or a heart beating.

Unfortunately, I realized with a pang of sadness, that was the way I used to feel about Vincent before I'd lost Eagle. Tears brimmed in my eyelids as I strode towards my room. Turning on my speakers and plugging in my mp3 player to it, I turned on some music, playing songs from a band called Hotstop, one of my favorites. I dialed the volume loud enough so I could drown out all substantial thought and fall asleep to heavy drumbeats and squealing guitar chords. That was much more enjoyable than thinking of the past.

So, I was listening to Coldplay while writing this, hence the band name Hotstop. H aha stupid parody of a name, but I was bored. And of course, Coldplay isn't exactly hardcore rock like Hotstop… XD Oh, and when I wrote about the TV show _The Corporation _in the last chapter, I was watching _The Office_. Brilliant, eh?

Not really, but oh well. Did you like? Dislike? Hate? Love? Want to toss your computer out the window? Hopefully, it wasn't that bad.

I'm done rambling. REVIEW! :D


	5. I Do That When I Tell A Girl 'Good Luck'

**Read&Review **

**I would like some more reviews, guys. I know a lot of ya'll read this, so pleaaase leave some constructive criticism! (: **

**This is a bunch of fluff. Lia and Will fluff, though (: I hope some of it's cute, so it doesn't bore you guys to tears. :D 'Cause it's long (:**

**Note to PhantomStallionCrazzy: I won't be doing anything from Sam's POV unfortunately. I know the whole point of fan fiction is kinda to use the characters provided, but this is Lia's story. However, I might be writing a sequel to this story, and I've already thought it out, and it involves something MAJOR happening to Sam. It's going to be amazing… and creepy…**

**But I'm giving too much away. ON WITH THE STORY!**

**P.S. I LOVE MY REVIEWERS! :D**

My angry pout must have made every emotion I was experiencing at the moment clear, because Will never once bothered to ask what was wrong. Sitting in the front seat of his too-shiny still-smells-like-new-car truck in a dress with an oversized black satin bow adorning the peachy fabric and feeling like a complete and utter _moron_, I glared continuously, either out the window or at Will. We eventually pulled into the school's parking lot, and he let out a long sigh, casually straightening the collar of his formal black shirt, then his blue tie.

"Look, Li--"

"Shut up and give me a few minutes," I grumbled, putting on my black cardigan, grabbing my purse and taking a couple of deep breaths.

"My mom's going to find out either way," Will announced, looking around aimlessly, but never at me. "We _could _ditch."

"Although that's the most brilliant thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth," I said sarcastically, but relishing the idea, "we can't. We'll just go in, leave in an hour, say I got a massive headache--"

"Lia, the more I think about this, the more I think this is a really bad idea. Not just bad, but _really _bad."

"I'm quite aware of that."

"I'm sure you are. But my parents think I'm with Mel, as my _date_. Mel's parents and mine are good buddies; they'll figure out that Mel and I never even discussed that idea."

"Yes, but now my parents think I'm here with you!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "As my… date."

"I'm sorry."

"You're going to be more than sorry when I'm through with you."

"_You _agreed to this."

"Because I thought I had a chance at saving your sorry butt! And then, oh no, actually, we don't. Just thought you'd let me know, and now you've caused this whole big mess! My mom's going to cry…"

"What?!" His face held genuine panic, and I almost smiled.

"Not really, you idiot, but you saw the look on her face when you showed up at my doorstep."

"I honestly thought this would work. But it won't; we're both screwed."

"You owe me."

"What if I take you to Clara's? I'll pay for everything. This night might actually turn out to be bearable."

I stared at my lap, wrestling with the decision. He was right: we were both screwed. His parents were under the impression he was going with Mel to the school's winter formal dance tonight, only because his parents wouldn't let him go without a date, and he had wanted to meet up with his friends. Then, I had agreed to go, and he'd agreed to pick me up so I could join up with our group; my parents had left to go to dinner and a movie right after we'd left, so they couldn't take me. However, my mother simply couldn't believe the two of us were only going as friends, and had made that clear by her sly little smile she wore as I had tried to make my escape out of the house. My dad was simply in denial of the whole thing, and I swear I thought his hand had twitched towards the spot where he kept his rifle hidden. Only mom's reassurance kept him from insisting he miss the dinner reservations and drive me himself instead of "some boy."

And now, Will had gotten me stuck in this whole mess. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go all the way, and ditch the whole thing.

"I'm going to have to lie to my parents. And my dad would kill you and keep me under house arrest if he found out."

"So you're in?"

"Yes. But I have to make a call." I dialed the numbers on my phone and tried to compose myself so I didn't sound like a liar.

"Hey, mom, just wanted to let you that we're here, and dad can put the gun down," I said brightly. My mother laughed on the other end.

"Have a good time, and be safe; and you'll be home by eleven thirty," she reminded me.

"Of course, Mrs. Weston," Will proclaimed loudly.

"Bye honey; we have to go, we're late. Love you."

"Love you." I pressed the "end" button and let out a cheer. "I'd insist on changing into normal clothes back at my house, but that'd make my parents freak. So let's head over to Clara's." I looked down pointedly at my ridiculous outfit.

"Don't be so self-conscious; no one cares."

"It's too formal."

"Nonsense; you look beautiful." I felt a blush instantly heat my cheeks, but was thankful that the night sky around us made the truck interior too dark for him to see. A strange silence hung in the air as he practically shoved the key into the ignition and sped out the parking lot, down the road towards Clara's diner.

We arrived and discovered the place to be practically empty, except for a college-aged couple in a back booth and a small family of four having a pleasant conversation. A waitress who Will told me was Clara herself, greeted us chirpily, before staring at me a moment.

"Why, I don't believe I've seen _you _around here before," she said pleasantly. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Lia," I said softly.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Clara. Willis," she said, turning to face him, "I don't think you've ever snagged yourself a prettier girl." I laughed and playfully shoved him with my shoulder while he blushed furiously.

"We're just friends," he said, avoiding her gaze. Clara laughed.

"'Course you are. Shouldn't you two be at that dance?"

"Long story," Will said. "Point is, we ditched."

"I forgot my ticket," I lied smoothly. "I can't even go home to get it--my parents are out until ten and I also forgot the house key. And Will is providing my ride, so we didn't have many options."

"Sure, sure," she said, winking at Will. "Would ya'll like something private?"

"Oh, it--it doesn't matter," Will stuttered uncomfortably. Poor guy. Clara laughed heartily at his discomfort and led us to a back booth. Quiet music filled the restaurant, and I recognized the song almost immediately. It was a contemporary country tune, and for some reason, I felt a little more at peace.

Clara went to fetch our drinks while we quickly decided on hamburgers with sides of fries.

"The hamburgers," Will said eagerly, "are the best here. You'll love them."

"Hope so, because I'm so dead after tonight." He chuckled. "I'd like to enjoy my last meal."

"Of course."

"So tell me," I said, feeling my bubbly, talkative self come forth, the way it always seemed to around this boy, "do you know the specifics on how Jake asked Sam to the dance?"

"Why do you want to know?" he countered, Clara setting his Coke in front of him and my root beer in front of me. I took a sip before replying.

"I think it's a girl thing. Most of us are suckers for sappy, romantic stuff."

"Of course." He rolled his eyes playfully as he repeated himself. "Sam was talking to me at school and nearly exploded before telling me all the details. Apparently, he offered her a ride home one day and gave her a rose while standing by his truck. He's in deep."

"Oh, wow, that's adorable," I giggled. "Big, tough Jake, trying to get the nerve to ask Sam to the dance."

"I wish I'd gotten video. _That _would've been a sight to see." I laughed cheerily.

"Oh, come on, let's give the poor guy a break." I took another sip of my root beer. "So, what do you think our group thinks happened to us?" Just then, I heard a phone go off. I recognized it as a familiar old rock song. Will flipped open his cell phone and the music stopped as he read the message, chuckling.

"They're already wondering," he said, the music going off again. He continued talking as he read. "Cory was wondering where we were. I'll tell her the whole story, no worries."

"Good, because this is a long story."

"Mmhmm." Just then, our hamburgers arrived, and we dug into them furiously. I had to admit: they were extremely good hamburgers. We were silent as we ate, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, I was a bit relieved; I was afraid I'd start talking too much. What an odd fear to have, I thought to myself. It'd been a while since I'd had to worry about that.

"You want dessert?" Will asked me quietly, finishing his last bite. I shook my head, feeling a little cloud of despair form over my head at the thought of Vincent. I tried to shake it off, checking the time on my phone in silence. It was only nine fourteen.

"We have so much time," I said quietly.

"You want to go somewhere else?" he asked, retrieving his wallet. I suddenly remembered something.

"Not really. And look, if you want dessert, I don't mind waiting."

"I won't keep you." I rolled my eyes. Why did he have to be so difficult?

"Darn you, give me that dessert menu," I said forcefully. He laughed and handed it to me with flourish, and I gave him a questioning stare. He simply shrugged and I began to look over the menu.

"I want the peach cobbler."

"Well I want a chocolate shake."

"Good for you." He laughed at my bitter tone, making me grin.

A busboy took our dishes and a different waitress went to retrieve our desserts while we sat in that comfortable silence we sometimes shared. We quickly received our desserts and I daintily began to eat the cobbler. I had to restrain myself from shoving the whole slice into my mouth; no wonder Clara's was famous among the locals. Will slurped his shake, but after we were about halfway through, he broke the silence.

"You should try this," he said, holding up a spoonful of the chocolate goop that he had retrieved from the extra tin of shake. I shook my head.

"No, thanks."

"I'll try yours if you try mine." I sighed, and reached for the spoon he still held in mid-air. However, he surprised me by keeping it just out of my reach. When I opened my mouth to protest, he shoved it in.

It was rich, with little chocolate bits sprinkled in. I sucked the spoon dry, swallowed, and quickly glared at him.

"I'm a big girl. I can feed myself." He gave me an amused half-smile.

"But your reaction was funny. Your eyes got all big."

"Alright, buddy. Then I get to feed _you _like a toddler." I picked up a piece of cobbler with my bare hands and promptly shoved it in his mouth. Well, some of it.

"Hey!" he exclaimed after finally swallowing the portion that actually went inside his mouth. "You got that all over my face!"

"Whoops," I replied, smirking. He pretended to growl.

"Thank goodness that was good. I might've had to take drastic measures."

"I'm sure you would have." The rest of our meal was spent bantering playfully, and then we left, running towards his truck in the middle of the freezing parking lot. I climbed in, shivering violently.

"Why is it so cold in Nevada?" I muttered, trying to rub my arms to keep warm. He chuckled.

"You get used to it. Kind of."

"Hmph." Now that I had begun thinking of it, I was missing my home in California. The soft, buttery sunshine, the rolling hills I had grown up in, the horses I passed by in their fields on my way home from school, stopping often to caress them and feed them leftovers from lunch. A tear pricked my eye, so I fell silent and concentrated on not blinking too much for fear of dislodging the tear.

"Here," Will said suddenly, and I snapped out of my daydream.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"Take my jacket. I can hear your teeth chattering." He handed me a jacket I often saw him wear when he was around the horses. It smelled like fresh hay and horsehair. And… something else, but I couldn't quite place it. Whatever it was, it was sure good. Almost like… berries? But that didn't seem like something a guy would wear for cologne… did he even wear cologne?

And why wasn't I putting on the stupid thing already?! I shoved it on hurriedly, but he didn't seem to notice my odd analyst's-moment with the jacket. Or he just hadn't said anything. He was focused on the road, but I muttered a "thanks". He simply nodded, turning on the radio. Crystal-clear sound protruded from the speakers, playing a soulful guitar-solo like soft background music. Which reminded me…

"Can I ask you a question that might be… touchy?" I said very softly. He glanced over at me and gave me an odd look.

"Maybe," he said slowly. "May I ask why, though?"

"Curiosity."

"Shoot."

"It looks like your parents… you and your family have a lot of money, I mean, your house is huge and this truck is fancy and everything, and… well, you obviously love horses. Why don't you have one of your own?"

He chuckled casually, but the sound was strained beneath the cheery overtone.

"Long story."

"So that means you don't want to talk about it."

"Not exactly," he sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair. "I just… it's weird, that's all."

"You don't have to tell me. I was just curious, like I said."

"I know," he assured me with a sad smile. The tune played sorrowfully in the background, and I struggled to talk about a lighter topic as the uncomfortable silence pressed seemed to press against my skull. Finally, I blurted out something random.

"We get class ranks on Monday…"

"Yeah. Even you?"

"They finally got everything transferred, so yeah." More awkward silence. It was suddenly very tempting to bang my head against something hard, like the window. Gosh, I was an idiot.

After more agonizing silence, we reached my house, dark but non-threatening. The sky glittered with thousands of diamonds above us as we made our way to the front door. I snatched my key out of my purse with numb fingers and fumbled with the lock. Flipping on the light switch, I sighed in relief. I was finally warm. I gave Will his jacket back and looked up into his face.

"Well, thanks for taking me home," I said. Realizing that I'd already blabbered all night with this boy, I felt extremely embarrassed. A little blush crept up my cheeks as I swiftly turned away. He chuckled.

"You're welcome. And why are you blushing?"

"It's cold!" I lied, spinning around to face him and his handsome face once again.

"Uh-huh."

"You know, you're not nearly this annoying and chatty during class."

"You're easy to talk to." I wasn't sure how to respond to that without sounding moronic.

"You, too," I said a bit uneasily, trying to walk away and give him the message that I wanted him to go. But he grabbed my shoulder to stop me and gave me a swift peck on the cheek. A flash of heat pulsed through my veins and I struggled to remain composed.

"What was that for?" I asked, my voice surprisingly steady.

"I do that when I tell a girl 'good luck'. You know, for you and the class rank thing. And more importantly, with your parents…" He just had to remind me, didn't he?

"You still owe me."

"I think that was suffice."

"A kiss on the cheek?" I sputtered, pretending to be indignant. "Please, for the amount of trouble I'm about to be in, you owe me--"

"Cookies?"

"No. The most awesome birthday present EVER."

"I can do that."

"Good. Now then, good-bye, Will."

"Bye," he replied, grinning. As soon as I had shut the door behind him, I raced and flopped onto the couch, undecided as to whether I should do a happy dance or cry. What was I getting myself into? Sure, Will seemed sweet now, and it was possible he might think of me as more than a friend. But what if I was wrong? Or even worse--I was right, but then he'd turn behind my back and say something horrible about me? I couldn't be sure--heck, I'd only known him for little more than a month!

But for some reason, it felt like I'd known him for much longer. And I couldn't suppress the feeling that I was about to do something very, very stupid.


	6. Happy Birthday

**Awww I love my reviewers (: **

**Note to God's rider (and anyone else who was confused): **It was sorta supposed to be inferred why they ditched. Basically, Will's parents said he couldn't go to the dance without a date. So he lied to his parents and said he was going with Mel then told Lia he lied about _that _because he wanted to go to the dance, but not against his parents "qualifications." It was also supposed to be assumed that Lia knew about his sticky situation beforehand, "I thought I had a chance at saving your sorry butt." However, I think what I didn't make clear was that Lia didn't know Will had told his parents he was going with _Mel_, instead of just an anonymous girl, so she thought she could help him out by acting as the "anonymous date". But he then says at the last minute "my parents think I'm going with Mel". Then Lia gets irritated with him, and he suggests ditching, and she's probably so fed up with the whole dance idea that she agrees to ditch.

Does that incredibly long explanation make sense? The bold stuff below may also help, however:

**WARNING**: slight spoiler in the bold below.

**Oh, and you can also "infer" (this is optional and purely based on your own opinion) that Will "forgot" to mention to Lia that he told his parents he was going with Mel specifically, then mentions it at the last minute while also throwing in "we could ditch…", and you could **_**possibly **_**assume that he was just making an excuse to spend some alone time with Lia. ;)**

"C'mon, Sam," I urged, "I know you want to tell me all about it." She giggled softly and her light brown eyes twinkled.

"Yes!" she whisper-yelled, trying not to attract too much attention considering we were in the library. and she practically bounced over to the chair next to me. I could only laugh at her antics.

"Okay, so the week before last, on Friday, Jake offered to pick me up after school," Sam said brightly, nearly exploding with excitement. "I thought maybe we were just going to hang out or something after school, maybe go to Clara's. I never considered him asking me to the dance--it _is _Jake after all." Her eyes looked far away, beyond the walls of my little house and beyond my driveway and even beyond the sky, into the past. Talk about young love.

"And?" I prompted, and she snapped out of her dreamlike state.

"Well, I walked out of school, knowing he'd be waiting already, and saw him leaning against his truck, which was odd because it was super-windy that day. And he held something behind his back. So you know, I walked over, suspicious already, but not having a clue as to what was actually going on. And then--I don't think I've ever heard him sound so nervous in all my life--he asked me to go to the dance and gave me a rose!"

"Aww," I said sappily. She laughed lightly.

"Isn't that… sweet?"

"You almost sound sarcastic there, Sam." She giggled.

"Oh, Jake's always been sweet--deep, deep down--" another giggle, "but this was very unlike him. And as you can tell, kind of made my… week. Or month. Yeah, I think month." I smiled.

"That's so cute. Ya'll are freaking adorable together." Sam blushed furiously, and I saw Jen enter the room. She still seemed irritated with me, but I was hoping I could change that--without having to explain my stupid fear of riding a horse.

"Hey, Jen," I asked quietly. She peered at me through her golden lashes warily. "Did you understand section four of the history reading? It jumped around a lot." Jen sighed.

"Yes."

"Okay," I paused awkwardly, "could you help me then?" This wasn't going quite as planned.

"How?"

"Explain what it said in basic English, please."

"What, you think I'm going to tell you in French?" she snorted. I felt my resolve shrinking.

"No, don't take it that way," I replied, trying to sound subdued. "I'm just saying, when I read it, it seemed like jibber-jabber to me."

"Oh." Jen's voice suddenly turned from bitter to sincere. "Yeah, sure, in fact, I took some notes." She handed over a notebook, and I smiled at her gratefully. That day at lunch had probably just been PMS or something, I thought, smiling some more and thanking her graciously.

Monday passed by relatively quickly. So did Tuesday. And Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… until on Saturday I got a rude awakening at nine in the morning from a very excited Sam.

"Hey, guess what?"

"I'm sleeping," I moaned irritably into the telephone, remembering that I was allowed to sleep in that day, but not awake enough to recall exactly why. She laughed cheerily on the other end.

"Oh, come on, you're gonna spoil all our fun."

"Who do you mean when you say, 'our'?"

"Come out on your front porch."

"_What?_"

"Just do it." Tentatively, I climbed out of bed, put on some moccasin-styled slippers, and made my way to the front door. I stepped out, in my flannel pajama pants and oversized T-shirt, a cold blast of winter breeze biting at my skin. At the sight, I rubbed my eyes a few times, trying to figure out if I was dreaming.

Spirit stood quietly, all tacked up, with Sam holding two sets of reins for my horse and her little bay mount. She stood on the ground, grinning from ear to ear, with Jake smirking atop a burly black horse, Jen trying to quiet a pretty palomino a way off to the side of Spirit, and Will also there, sitting on Bliss and looking extremely proud of himself.

"Happy birthday!" they all cheered, and I blinked until full comprehension just about knocked me over with its force. Of course. Today was my birthday; that's why I was sleeping in. And this was their idea of a surprise… but most certainly not mine. I tapped my foot in exasperation and crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Come on, Lia," Sam called out, "please? We'll wait while you get dressed." I grumbled to myself, something about being in my pajamas in front of boys. How attractive.

"No way," I yelled hoarsely. I cleared my throat self-consciously.

"Please?" Jen asked. "We all worked hard to do this." Darn guilt-tripper. But I wouldn't budge.

"Lia, I will _make _you get on this horse," Sam threatened. I chuckled sleepily.

"Try me." Even from the distance we were at, I noticed that Sam's eyes had narrowed and she did not appear to be ready to give up. Leaving her horse ground-tied and handing Spirit over to Will, she marched up the porch steps and grabbed my arm, dragging me into the house.

"Get dressed," she ordered. What a stubborn girl.

"I hate to offend you, Sam, but this is a horrible birthday gift."

"Too bad, so sad. March!" Forcefully, she shoved my shoulders and pushed me into my room.

"Alright, alright! I surrender!" Sam smiled, obviously pleased with herself. I muttered something she couldn't hear, but she laughed anyways.

"Just hurry--we want to get moving!" Sam waited while I changed as fast as I could, "just to make sure I didn't try to escape", then brushed my teeth, slapped on deodorant, washed my face, and finger-combed my knotted hair. Grabbing my old hat on the way out the door and my jacket, I bravely stepped into the chilly air, and grabbed Spirit's reins. Jen let out a whoop and Will applauded. Jake gave me an approving nod and Sam practically danced towards her horse.

"My parents are aware of this, right?" I asked.

"I called them before they left to go into town," Sam said with a wave of her hand. "You're not getting off that horse until we say so."

"Great," I muttered, mounting up and trying to remain calm. Slight panic was setting in, and I didn't want to make Spirit as nervous as I was. Even with all the extra riding I'd been doing lately, going on a ride out in the open was utterly terrifying. Spirit let out a snort, probably excited. When was the last time this horse had been outside confines of fences and posts? A long while.

"She'll be a little excited, but you'll do fine," Will said reassuringly. "Just keep breathing and you'll be okay." I nodded mutely.

"Dear God, don't let me fall," I breathed, urging Spirit into a swinging walk. Something didn't feel right, though, like the saddle was crooked. I looked down, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was almost like the seat if the saddle was too large. I ignored it, though--it wouldn't matter today, and it seemed to fit Spirit fine.

Sam swung up and jogged to catch up with me. Jen stayed a little ways to the left of Sam, because her horse was still acting spooky. Jake was a couple horse-lengths behind us, with Will close by, but not too close, I noticed, because Jake's horse appeared to have ears permanently pinned to its head.

Quietly, we rode across the range, heading towards the general direction of Sam's ranch. The sky was a crisp blue, but beyond the Calico Mountains, clouds appeared to be building up. It would take a while for them to hit the area, but I felt a breeze at that moment that was even sharper than the already freezing winter air. I shivered, trying not to imagine how cold it was going to be tonight.

We all began to jog along, heading towards War Drum Flats. Jen wanted to gallop, let some energy out of her horse, but Sam said no. I felt bad, knowing that was because of me. With my heart in my throat, I spoke the next words.

"It's okay, Sam, let's go! All the way to…" I faltered, not sure where to go from there. Sam grinned.

"There's a lake up ahead," Sam called out over the now heavy wind. "Let's race to there." I nodded, knuckles turning white in apprehension. I will not fall, I will not fall, I will not fall…

And suddenly, Spirit let out a shrill neigh and burst forward. I couldn't scream, but I wanted to. The landscape hurtled past me as I kept pace with Sam. Jake surged up next to me, and soon we were all fairly even. A sudden rush of adrenaline replaced my terror and sheer excitement filled me. A competitive spike rushed through my veins, making my arms pump to the rhythm of Spirit's bobbing head and my heels squeeze her sides. I leaned closer to her neck and tried to ignore the rawhide string around my neck that was the lifeline of my old hat. Sam began to fall behind, but Jen, Jake, and Will stayed paced with me. Soon, however, Sam caught up with me, surpassed me, and they all left me in the dust as Spirit began to breathe hard, sweat lathering on her coat. I began to slow her down, shifting my weight back into the saddle. She responded, but she wasn't happy with it. However, she wasn't used to this kind of work, and I couldn't keep her going at this pace much longer.

We finally all came to a walk and reached the little lake and let the horses have a few sips. I felt a silly smile plastered to my face, and tipped my head back to let the sun warm my cheeks. What a wonderful day, I thought happily. I could do this, I thought to myself. I could conquer my fears completely, and maybe someday start competing again, train Spirit up or borrow someone else's horse who was more in shape. The idea, for the first time in over a year, thrilled me and made my nerves tingle instead of chilling me to the bone.

As I looked around, I realized I had all these people to thank for that. I grinned and faced them.

"Thank you guys," I said loudly. They looked at me curiously, but Sam was the first to understand.

"I knew you'd like it in the end," she announced proudly. I patted Spirit's neck fondly. Jake gave me an approving look and Jen smiled at me pleasantly. And Will, of course, looked about as proud as a peacock. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Was this your idea?" I asked him accusingly.

"Of course," he laughed. "But Sam helped, too." She rolled her eyes at him.

"It was an equal effort, thanks for the credit, _pal_," she hissed playfully. He shrugged casually.

I looked up at the sky, gazing peacefully before turning my eyes to the Calico Mountains. I gasped audibly. The clouds were about to break over the peaks, dark and threatening. I saw a flash of lightning and heard faint roll of thunder. We only had maybe an hour before the storm hit us.

"Would you look at that," Jen said in slight awe. "That's pretty creepy looking."

"Let's go, then!" Sam said hurriedly, and no one disagreed with her. The brilliant sunlight hadn't changed, but it would soon.

We headed off our separate ways--Jen went north towards her house, and so did Jake (but not before giving Sam a quick kiss goodbye of course). Will had to go the Forster's to return Bliss, so we began to head that way, since my own ranch was just south of Riverbend.

The clouds grew closer, and as we reached the entrance to Riverbend, the first few raindrops began to fall. I knew I had to hurry home, but it was quite the distance even with the ranches neighboring each other.

"Aurelia, dear!" Sam's grandmother called out from an old Buick she was driving towards the bride that crossed the La Charla river. "Why don't you stay with us for right now?"

"Thanks, ma'am, but I have to go home," I yelled over the rising wind, crossing the bridge behind Sam and Will so I could hear her better.

"I wouldn't suggest that--the weather reports look nasty."

"It's not too far of a ride." A flash of lightning seemed to split open the now charcoal skies and thunder roared immediately after. Spirit began to dance in place, a very unusual habit for her considering she was a very quiet horse. I debated nervously in my mind.

"I won't allow it. You're going to get yourself hurt if you ride through this snow turning itself into slippery slush. Come put your horse away in a spare stall and I'll call your folks."

"Thank you," I said, surprised at how relieved I was. I was certainly becoming a braver rider, but I was in no position to contradict a woman's opinion of the weather when she had been living on a ranch for the better part of her life. She certainly knew better than I did. I jogged towards the cozy-looking barn, dismounted, and began to untack Spirit.

Mr. Forster helped set up a temporary stall inside for Spirit and everyone darted into the house as we finished with the horses, the rain stinging me like needles. Sam's gram had been right, I thought gratefully. I couldn't imagine the mess I'd be in now if I'd had to ride in _this_. I was awaiting warmth as I followed Sam through the door, but Will suddenly pulled me back. Sam looked at us as if she knew something, and let the door close behind her. I turned around a bit angrily, feeling the water from my hair and on my clothes beginning to seep into my skin.

"C-c'mon!" I begged, teeth chattering. "It's freezing!"

"Hang on just a second," he said with a warm laugh. "I just have another gift to give you."

"Why out here?" He looked away from my eyes.

"Well, to be honest, you might hate it, and I don't want that spectacle in front of everyone else," he said sheepishly. I let out a giggle. "Close your eyes." His voice was a whisper, and I relaxed, trying not to become too excited at the possibilities, and hoping he was dead wrong about his present.

He gabbed my hand and placed something in it. It felt like a small leather-bound book, and he whispered again, "You'll either love it or hate it, so let's see." Slowly, I looked down at my hand and gasped.

A picture of me was on the cover of the little photo album, a very recent picture of me in some jean shorts and converse sneakers and an old little T-shirt, holding the lead rope of a steel-gray horse with an ebony mane and tail, arching his neck proudly. With a tear trailing down my cheek, I opened the book and found picture after picture of me and Eagle, starting from the day I bought him in seventh grade up until right before our last endurance race, a silly picture of Eagle nuzzling my hair as I laughed. I couldn't find any words, and my heart felt like it might fall to pieces.

But I wasn't angry. And I didn't hate the present at all. It just brought back everything so clearly.

"How'd… how'd you find these?" I asked softly. He smiled sadly.

"To be honest, Sam managed that," he said quietly. "I told her my plan and she called your parents. They thought it would be okay, and gave me the photos. If you don't want it, I'll take it back."

I shook my head passionately. "I love it Will, honest. It's just hard to think about, you know?" I wiped away the tear and flipped back to a picture of me sitting on Eagle bareback and riding through a river, grinning like an idiot.

"Honest?" he asked hopefully. I nodded and without thinking, tackled him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around me as I inhaled his scent inconspicuously. I felt like this was a good excuse to hug him.

"Happy birthday, Lia," he whispered, resting his cheek against my hair. I think I could've died a happy person right then and there.


	7. PS I Love You

**He he he I left you all in suspense! That was kinda fun (:**

**This chapter's beginning mostly dialogue and story-telling. Might be a little slow at first, but then something exciting happens! Yay (:**

My weekend had been blissful, partially due to Will's incredible gift. But school on Monday was an absolute joke right up until seventh period.

First, Rachel Slocum, for no reason I could see, invited me to some party she was having this coming weekend in Spanish class. I went to math class and took a dreadful test. After leaving history, I was certain I had failed the quiz. I fell asleep in computer class. Jake came to sit by Sam during lunch, which meant that he and Jen bickered the entire hour and gave me a pounding headache. Some idiot boy playing with the striker in the chemistry lab burned my finger, giving me some angry red blisters. My phone went off in English class, which made my teacher quite annoyed.

However, as theatre class came around, the day suddenly turned a lot brighter. A counselor came in to distribute our GPA's and class rankings. When I received the slip of paper, folded in half, I mouthed a little prayer and slowly, almost painfully, opened my results.

I found the numbers I was looking for and gasped audibly, my mouth hanging open. No. Way. Absolutely no way. I wanted to dance for joy, but I couldn't. When the counselor left half an hour later after discussing college with us and such, our teacher decided to let us have a free day. I followed Will, who was motioning to me, out of the little black box theatre where we normally held class and into the actual theatre, onto the stage.

"So?" he asked, seeming a little despaired. I grinned in a silly fashion and gave him the folded paper out of my pocket. He glanced, seemed to do a double-take, and suddenly beamed.

"You're number freaking _four_?!" he exclaimed. I nodded, speechless, and he lit up. I was ranked four out of the approximately three-hundred sophomores at Darton High. "I can't believe it! And you were worried!" I laughed as he bear-hugged me.

"Who's number four?" a freshman named Niles questioned, one ear bud from his mp3 player dangling freely, one in his ear, blasting music I could hear from a few feet away. Niles and I had sort of become buddies recently, and I smiled at him, and he gasped.

"Nuh-uh!" he exclaimed, grabbing the yellow sheet and letting out a little laugh of disbelief. "High-five me, Lia!" I slapped his hand and he handed me the sheet back. "That's so crazy!"

"What'd you get, Will?" I asked as Niles ran over to his group of friends. He shrugged.

"Nothing special," he replied with a small shrug.

"Come on, I'll bet it's good," I urged. He sighed deeply.

"I'm ninety-four." Disappointment crossed his features, and I instantly felt horrible. Here I was, happy dancing the class away, and Will was almost in triple digits. Of course, he was still in the top third of the class. That definitely counted for something.

"That's not bad at all," I encouraged, but he gave me the are-you-serious? look. I shoved his shoulder playfully. "Snap out of it! You're in the top third of the class. That's perfectly acceptable, and I'm sure it could've been a whole lot worse." He looked at his feet.

"My parents will be mad."

"Why?" I asked, astonished. "What in the world do they expect from you?"

"They're mad because I have a C in math, even though all my other classes are A's and B's. Yes, they'll be mad. They want me to be in the top ten percent, actually, even though they know that's unreasonable."

"It _was _a D ," I pointed out, and he gave me a half-hearted smile. "Besides, I think you're doing fine." He looked at me, as though trying to make me understand something vitally important.

"My brother was a straight-A student. Every single nine-weeks report card was filled with A's. Every. Single. One. All the way through high school. So then I started high school, and well… to be honest, I'm more interested in working with horses." He plopped down on the floor, sitting cross-legged and resting his chin in his hands. I silently sat down next to him, wrapping my arms around my knees and unsure of what to say.

"They never liked that. I don't understand why, but it's always such a surprise for them when I do something different than my brother does."

"How old's your brother?" I blurted out randomly. Will didn't seem bothered that I'd interrupted his speech.

"Just a year older. But he's always better at me than everything." A little smirk came over his face. "Except anything having to do with horses. That's my only triumph over him." He paused a moment to let his face fall again. "He's got a pretty girlfriend, always gets the girls, super smart, a great tennis player… my grandparents favor him, and I'm not just blowing things out of proportion. They were tennis champions when they were younger, and still play it. They value the same things my parents do, which means my brother… well, he gets lavished upon and I get left out."

"Are you _positive_ about all of that?" I asked dubiously. "I highly doubt your parents favor your brother over you."

"Maybe they don't, but they sure talk more about him than me," he said quietly. "But my grandparents? I'm sure. You should've seen the difference in our Christmas presents." He snorted.

"I'm sorry, that has to be tough. But yeah, grandparents…" I trailed off. He looked at me expectantly.

"What about them?"

"Nothing really; my grandparents don't like me riding. They've tried to convince my parents out of me riding since I started as a four year-old. And then when I had my accident on Eagle… well, they just blew it. They'd always been saying things behind my back, but then they started blowing up in my parents' faces, usually when I was conveniently around to witness." I frowned with dissatisfaction at the memories.

"That's horrible. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. But I mean, I'm still mad at them. They accused my parents of letting me to do something that was going to get me killed, or cause me 'mental distress,' which is what they called my little depressed state. And every time they said that… this is embarrassing, but I'd scream at them, call them bad names, sometimes in front of other family. And that just fueled their fire, of course." I shook my head, chastising myself mentally.

"Hey, I would've been mad, too," Will reassured me gently. I rested my head against his shoulder, yawning and closing my eyes. It felt so right to me, and he didn't protest.

My day just got a thousand times better.

***

Time passed. Valentine's Day approached, and Jake and Sam became sappier than I thought possible. Thank goodness the day of love was on a Sunday this year, because I didn't want to have to spend a school day with Sam getting very sentimental over a nice gift that shy Jake would present her. Actually, to be honest, I didn't want to spend the day at school with everyone giving each other flowers and candy. Between friends it was nice, but between couples… well, it didn't bring back the best of memories.

I didn't realize I was frowning from thinking of the Valentine's Day I'd spent with Vincent and completely out of touch with reality the Friday before the oh-so-special day until someone lightly slapped my shoulder.

"Whoa, what?" I said quickly, looking around. Jen sighed, but smiled afterwards.

"In our own little world, aren't we?" Jen queried. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Just thinking is all," I said as innocently as I could, pushing my bangs out of my face self-consciously.

"Got someone special on your mind?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a way I didn't think was physically possible. I burst into rather obnoxious laughter, and Jen laughed along with me.

"How do you do that?"

"It's one of my special talents," Jen replied with a wave of her hand. "But seriously, do you?"

Yes.

"No." I paused. "You?"

"Well, I _did _get a date," Jen replied, looking away. "I'm not sure I want to go, though."

"Wait, who asked you?"

"Darrell. One of Jake's friends, and a definite bad boy. A junior." Even as Jen spoke, a little smile crossed her face. "And he's got the nicest smile I've ever seen."

"But he's not your 'type'," I supplied. Jen gave me a cold stare, then her whole look changed and she sighed in defeat. Win.

"No, I suppose not," she said slowly. "But Jake's assured me--annoyingly--that Darrell won't do me any harm. And I don't think he would, but I mean… I do have the honest fear of him breaking the law…"

"On the first date?" I teased. Jen's face showed genuine fear. "I wouldn't worry about it. If Jake says he's okay… well, I think Darrell will be semi-safe."

"And not break the law on the first date?" Jen said lightly. I laughed once again.

"I think that's a safe bet."

Friday passed by, and so did Saturday. However, as the Sunday sun began to dawn, the sun's rays only beginning to peek out from behind the faded curtains, I was awoken with a start.

"Lia, honey, get up," my mom said hurriedly. I rubbed my eyes and groaned.

"Why? Church service isn't until tonight," I muttered, burying my head beneath the covers.

"Lia," my mom said sternly. "Up. Now. Annie's foaling."

"What?!" I screeched. "She's not due for at least three more weeks!" I literally jumped out of bead and slipped on my riding boots as fast as I could. "Did you call the vet?"

"Yes," she reassured me, even though worry lines were etched into her face. I scrambled to find a jacket then darted out the door.

I surprised that there was no wind outside. It made the morning chill a little more bearable. But the foal would still be freezing when it was born in this weather.

This was not good.

Our broodmare, Sagebrush Annie, was an older dapple-gray mare with an amazingly quiet temperament. I'd been anticipating the foal's birth for a while, especially since it was going to be my family's first foal sired by our own stallion and born from our own mare. However, the foal being born this early was not good. It could mean complications.

My dad was already there, watching worriedly over Annie, who was lying on the ground, sweat forming on her neck. I shook my head.

"Dad, I'm getting her blanket off," I whispered.

"Lia, she's in pain," my dad warned. "She might accidentally hurt you." I ignored him and stepped into the stall.

"Hey, pretty Annie," I crooned. She looked up at me, and nickered softly. I couldn't help but smile. "That blanket's a little hot right now, huh? Will you let me get it off?" Annie let her head fall back into the bedding. I sighed. This was going to be difficult. I needed her to stand, but that was going to be impossible without force. I'd have to do without.

"Okay, girl, guess we're gonna do this the hard way." I came around behind her so her legs couldn't kick me, bent over her neck and undid the front strap. One down. I managed to do the two belly straps, although a contraption rippled through her body on the second one, and she nearly hit me with her hoof.

"Lia," my father warned, my mother silent and anxious beside him. Where was the darn vet when you needed him?

"She's okay, dad," I reassured him. Now the tricky part: the back straps, intertwined in her hind legs. But these were the most important.

"Dad, can we make her stand?" I asked. He grabbed a halter and managed to slip it on over her head. Then, he began to tug.

"Up, Annie girl, just for a minute," I pleaded. She grunted, but obeyed her owner. She stood, trembling from what I assumed was pain.

"Good girl," I whispered, quickly undoing the back straps and sliding the blanket off her back. In a sudden convulsion, she collapsed to the ground. I jumped back, straight into my dad's arms, which kept me from falling. I shoved the blanket aside and closed the stall door.

Forty-five minutes passed. Annie's contraptions still came, but no foal was in sight. I was ready to panic when suddenly, the vet appeared behind us.

"Oh, thank goodness," my mom said in a hushed tone. "Dr. Scott, correct?"

"Yes," he said warmly. "Mr. And Mrs. Weston, nice to meet you. Now then, what's this mare's status?" He peered into the stall. I moved out of the way and went to sit on a hay bale, nervously tapping my foot.

"She's had contraptions for the past forty minutes or so, but there's no foal…" my mother said, and I could no longer hear her. I decided I didn't want to be around, worried sick as I was, so I went outside into a haze of buttery sunshine. Our horses weren't turned out yet with all the excitement this morning, I realized, and probably not even fed.

I strode back in to the dim barn and tapped my mom's shoulder. Dr. Scott was watching Annie closely, analyzing her condition.

"Did the horses get fed?" I asked softly.

"Oh, no," my mom replied, slapping her forehead. "Could you do that for me, after you turn them out? Don't forget their water, too." She turned back to the stall. "Oh, and remember: Dorado gets three flakes of hay, not two." I nodded obediently and started haltering Spirit so I could lead her outside to her private paddock. Then I put Dorado and Flash out in the pasture they shared. Next, I went to go put Annie out into her own paddock. Finally, the tricky part: leading our stallion Saint Phillip, outside to his own paddock.

I almost never handled the stallion; that was left to my parents. I felt a weight settle on my shoulders as I went into his stall, at the very back of the stable, as far away from the mares as possible. I haltered him and we left through the small opening on the side of the barn, so he didn't have to walk past Annie or any of the mares at any time.

His paddock was conveniently only twenty feet away from that separate doorway, another safety precaution. He behaved like a gentleman as I turned him loose. Now the feed and water.

The chores were taking me a while for all five horses, and I began to worry obsessively. What was going on in that stall?

"Lia!" I heard my mom call as I was just beginning to water Phillip. I left the hose running in the trough and dashed into the barn, slowing down as my feet hit the concrete floor. My mom smiled, wrapping me in a hug. "Look, everything turned out fine. It's a little filly. Very little, but Dr. Scott thinks she'll be fine." My dad placed a gentle hand between my shoulder blades and guided me to the open entrance of the box stall. I gasped in amazement.

Annie, the slightly swaybacked old dapple gray, looked up at us, shiny with sweat but otherwise looking rather pleased with herself. Nearby, a delicate little foal was nestled in the straw, looking sleepy. She was chestnut from what I could see, and I could only hope that she'd turn out to have that deep red tone to her coat like her sire. However, her ears were small and rounded unlike the typical Arabian, reminding me of Annie in a small way. My parents hugged me as we gazed in wonder, and for a moment, the world stopped turning and the sun coming through the little windows made music and the Earth held its breath for all the splendor of a newborn life.

Dr. Scott left us in peace a few minutes later, assuring all of us that the foal would probably be perfectly healthy and to call if we needed him. I watched in wonder--I'd never seen a newborn foal.

She raised her head and looked up at us, her eyes wide with inquisition and her head perfectly sculptured. I smiled uncontrollably.

"Quite a Valentine's Day, huh?" my dad said, chuckling. I laughed.

"Yes," my mom agreed, kissing my dad quickly on the lips. "Happy Valentine's Day, honey."

"Happy Valentine's Day," my father replied, kissing my mom once again.

"Get a room," I teased. "Oh, and happy Valentine's Day." They laughed cheerily at me.

"She needs a name," my mom said thoughtfully. "A special name, for being born on Valentine's Day." I thought long a hard as we watched her try to stand up. A brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

"How about… P.S. I Love You?" I queried. "That's very lovey-dovey for Valentine's Day, I think." My parents gave me strange looks, but my mom broke into a grin.

"Actually, that's very cute," she said. My dad rolled his eyes.

"Thank God it's a filly and not a colt." I grinned.

"And as her nickname, just call her Val, like, short for Valentine."

"Hmm, maybe, we'll think about this," my mom said gently. "For now, we need to let Annie cool down a bit then put her blanket back on, then feed her. And oh, what are we going to do about keeping the foal warm?"

"Don't worry," my dad reassured her. "Annie's not a first-time mother. She'll keep her warm."

"I sure hope so. We should keep checking on her anyways. Any-hoo, let's go inside, everyone. I'm making a special breakfast and I have gifts!" Giving little Val one last glance, I followed my parents, who were hand-in-hand.

What a way to spend Valentine's Day. Much better than last year.


	8. It's A Gay Colt

**Okay guys, so I APOLIGIZE! SO MUCH! Because I've been a bad person and haven't updated in eternity. I hope this extra-long chapter makes up for it!**

**Also, at the very beginning of this story, in the summary where it talks about an "accident" occurring with Lia that "reveals why she never trusts a guy" (or something to that extent). Well, it's not really an accident: it's more of an event. I think "accident" has the wrong connotation. Just thought ya'll should know (:**

"Sam, you'll never guess!" I exclaimed Tuesday morning as we ran into each other at school. Jake hadn't come yet, which meant I had some time with Sam all to myself to share the news. All of Monday, which we had off from school because of President's Day, I had watched little Val tumble over herself trying to walk and hung around in the barn.

"What? You actually went to Rachel's party?" she asked me, absent-mindedly playing with something on her wrist. I glanced down and felt my eyes widen.

"Wait, he got you a bracelet?" I asked, inspecting it closer. It was just two strands of chocolate brown leather twisted around each other, but a little horse charm hung from it. Sam smiled.

"Yup," she chirped. "Isn't it pretty?" She held it up, and the charm glistened underneath the florescent lighting.

"It is. But now I have to tell you something important. First off: hell no to the party. I did something more productive."

"Like?"

"Sleep."

"Works for me," Sam shrugged. "Now what's the big news?"

We began to meander around the school. "Our first foal was born on Sunday." Now it was Sam's turn to have her eyes pop open.

"No way! Congrats!" she exclaimed, hugging me.

"Yup. And, as cheesy as it is, I think we already have a name picked out for the little girl."

"Really? What?"

"Well, she was born on Valentine's Day, so we call her Val. But, we're thinking about registering her as P.S. I Love You. I know it's cheesy, but what do you think?"

Sam laughed at me good-naturedly. "Very, very cheesy. But to be honest, I think that's the most adorable name for a foal I've ever heard." I grinned.

"Thanks. So did Jen go on that date with Darrell?" Sam rolled her eyes.

"Wait 'til they get here. That'll explain everything."

Right on cue, I saw Jen turn the corner and begin walking towards us, hand-in-hand with who I assumed was Darrell himself. I snickered at Sam.

"I'm guessing they had a good time?"

"There's no 'guessing' about it," Sam whispered. Jen greeted us with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey, Sammy doll," Darrell said. Sam gave him a quick hug. "And may I ask who this lovely female is?" Was he serious?

"Aurelia," I said stiffly. Jen rolled her eyes.

"Ignore him," she said with a flick of her wrist. "He thinks he's such a ladies' man."

"I _am _a ladies' man," he said seductively, and I had to force myself not to gag. Jen seemed to be having a hard time keeping herself from smiling.

"Charming," she said in her sarcastic way, but she placed her hand in his as they waved good-bye. I grabbed Sam's wrist.

"C'mon, Sam, all this love in the air is killing me." Sam laughed and she allowed me to drag her away.

Of course, I was just in luck, because after another two turns through hallways, Jake suddenly materialized at the other end.

"Jake!" Sam exclaimed, and she ran down the hall and literally leaped into his arms. He chuckled and hugged her close.

"See ya!" I yelled at them, and Sam waved without looking at me while Jake nodded his head politely. I felt like such a loner.

I decided to wander towards the library, seeing as there was nothing better to do, but while staring at the ground curiously because someone seemed to have left a trail of barbeque sauce on the ground, I accidentally ran into Rachel Slocum. What was it today, with all this meeting people in the hallway?

"Watch where you're going!" she exclaimed, smoothing a piece of coffee-colored hair. I narrowed my eyes at her, but mumbled, "Sorry," anyways and sidestepped her. Or at least, I thought I had.

"By the way, where'd you get that shirt?" she said, her tone clearly mocking. I grumbled a little incoherent profanity before replying, "Well, not at Sluts-R-Us."

Rachel didn't say another word. Maybe she hadn't heard me. That was probably a good thing, seeing as if she had, she would probably try to make life hell.

I continued on my path to the library, only to see Will standing near the entrance, talking to a pretty auburn-haired girl. He noticed me, and waved. I smiled, but I didn't want to interrupt, so I opened the library door and tried to sneak past them.

"Lia, come here," Will said. "Do you know Belle?" I shook my head.

"So your name's Lia?" she said brightly. "Cool. You're the girl who moved here during Christmas break, right?"

I nodded.

"Where from?"

"Northern California."

"Wow, that's a pretty place! Why'd you move here?"

"Cheap land. My parents bought a small ranch."

"Oh, I see. Do you like it here?"

"Yeah." She seemed to be put-off by my short responses, so I added, "I like seeing the wild horses sometimes. But it's so cold in the winter!"

"Wait until summer, you'll be begging for this," she said lightly, earning a small smile from me. She took a cell phone out of her pocket and pursed her lips. "I gotta go. Nice talking to you, Will, but I'm not finished. Call me tonight. And nice meeting you, Lia."

"She seems nice," I offered hesitantly. Will ran a hand through his hair, looking quite flustered.

"Um, yeah," he stammered. I arched an eyebrow.

"You think she's pretty?" I joked, nudging him in the arm. He let out a deep _whoosh _of air.

"I suppose."

"Ohhh--" He placed his hand on my mouth, and I crossed my arms in playful anger.

"It's not like that." I muttered something in response, but he couldn't hear me. He gave me a strangled smile. "She's my ex." I sobered up immediately as he moved his hand.

"Oh," I said awkwardly. "Er, I'm gonna go in the library now. See ya."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just explaining." He followed me inside.

"Stalker," I muttered. He playfully shoved my shoulder.

"Actually, I have nothing better to do."

"Right."

"Oh shut up. But on a more serious note, I need to ask you a favor."

"Shoot."

"Do you mind going on a trail ride with me this afternoon? Sam and Jen are working on a project and Jake's going to be at track practice. Bliss hasn't been out in a while. Maybe I can show you someplace new."

"I don't think I have too much homework. Sure. Right after school?"

"Thanks! And yes, meet me at the La Charla River, you know, where it crosses that--"

"Shhh!" a librarian commanded, and I smiled innocently.

"Yeah, I know where," I whispered, setting my backpack down on a table and setting myself down in a chair.

"So watcha been up to?" he quieried, turning his stunning blue eyes to me. My gaze locked onto those blue stones as I responded.

"Well…" I could hardly contain my excitement. "Annie, one of our broodmares, had her foal this weekend!"

"No way! Are your parents excited?"

"Maybe even more than me. It's their dream come true. We've already become so attached, though--I'm not sure how we're going to ever sell her. Once she's weaned, my parents said we'll start putting out ads. But I don't know, she's already been named and everything…" I laughed.

"What'd you name her?"

"Well, her nickname's Val. She was born on Saturday, so Valentine's Day. And her full name… don't laugh, okay?"

"Cross my heart," he swore.

"On her papers, her name is going to be written as P.S. I Love You." Silence. Then a strangled chuckle.

"Oh, you promised you wouldn't laugh!" I proclaimed while he tried to calm himself down.

"Sorry. No, it fits and all, but please, tell me that it's a filly."

"No, it's a gay colt," I retorted sarcastically.

"I knew it." I arched and eyebrow and he chuckled again.

"Of course it's a filly," I said after we had gotten shushed once more by the angry librarian.

"One would hope. Anyways, what does she look like?"

"She's a pale chestnut as far as I can tell, but I'm hoping her coat gets darker as she ages. She reminds me of her sire."

"Is it your own stallion?"

"Yup." I smiled proudly.

"You'll have to show her to me sometime."

"Promise." The bell rang, and we headed to class after sharing a quick hug. I couldn't help my heart's frantic beating as I waved good-bye.

*******

The day was long, but not too long. As soon as I arrived home, I changed into my worn-out jeans and scuffed-up boots and begged my parents to let me go riding. My parents agreed after a few little promises, and I quickly thanked them before heading out to the stable area.

I tacked up Spirit with amazing speed and hopped on, completely forgetting my hat. I didn't want to have to go back inside to grab it, so I decided I would just suffer from severely windblown hair and forget it. I began the walk towards the La Charla River, feeling my muscles relax in the saddle. In the past few weeks, I'd improved my riding skills a great deal, but I was still nowhere near the rider I was at the time of the accident. However, I felt much more confident now, thanks to Sam, Jake, and Will. Occasionally, Sam still came over to my place after school to give me riding lessons, and I always felt better afterwards, like I was making progress, like I was actually _getting _somewhere.

A mere fifteen minutes later, I saw Will and Bliss pacing the river's bank. He didn't appear to have seen me yet, so I simply sent Spirit into a jog their direction. He suddenly stopped Bliss, his face pointed down at the water like he was searching for something or deep in thought.

"Hey!" I shouted as we drew quite close, snatching his attention. His head jerked up, and he waved happily at me. I found a nice, shallow place to cross the river and let Spirit carefully pick her way across the slippery bottom. Reaching the other side, I grinned.

"So, where're we goin'?" I asked, excitement thrumming through my veins.

"It's kind of a secret. I think Sam probably knows about it, so that means Jen and Jake might know, too. But as far as I know, it's just me. So, now it's your turn."

"Okay, where?"

"I'm going to show you!" he laughed. "Just follow me. We're going to head towards the mountains, and there's this little trail, and if we're lucky, we'll see some Mustangs."

"Really?" I asked like a small, awestruck child. He smiled knowingly.

"Yes, really, Lia."

The ride seemed quite short, but the sun was beginning to sink steadily towards the horizon as we walked along the narrow trail. I was beginning to turn a little apprehensive, because walls of the little valley were beginning to creep upwards towards the sky, hiding the horizon and making me feel claustrophobic. I hummed a little tune to keep my nerves down while Spirit began to snort anxiously.

I patted her neck. "We're fine," I whispered. "I'm just overreacting."

"Okay, now at the end of this trail, there's a little lake and a clearing," Will told me in a hushed tone. "Right now, there's only brush, but some summers, after a really rainy spring, nice green grass grows everywhere and there's wildflowers and stuff. It's really neat, and the lake is the coolest shade of blue during those months. So it's not that nice right now, but… whatever, it's cool."

I laughed lightly, softly. "Okay."

Another five minutes, and I saw the clearing just ahead. We walked to the entrance before Will put up his hand to stop me. I gasped at the sight, and had to bite my lip from producing any more noise.

Two Mustangs, probably young bachelors that had banded together, were in the clearing. One was alertly judging us, his nostrils flaring as he decided whether to flee, fight, or ignore us. The other had one eye on us as he continued to drink from the little pool of water. I held my breath expectantly, wondering, if they tried to escape, where they would go.

"There's another path out of here," Will whispered faintly. The alert stallion tossed his head at us, a warning. "They'll probably run out that way in a minute." A loud snort from the stallion now.

I studied them while I could, knowing my time was limited. The stallion who was threatening us was an astonishing color, white with black spots, something you rarely saw in Mustangs. He was tall for a wild horse and quite refined. But I couldn't see a brand or any other sign of ownership on him. The other stallion had the confirmation similar to Bliss's--stocky, small, like an old-fashioned purebred Quarter Horse. His coat was extremely thick unlike the spotted stallion's, and he reminded me of a cute stuffed animal. He was also black and white, but he was a tobiano paint.

"I wish I had a black-and-white camera right now," I said dreamily. "Imagine how pretty this would look."

At the sound of my voice, the larger stallion pawed the ground a couple of times, then turned on his heels and galloped off, disappearing into the little niche in the low rock walls that could hardly be called a trail. The other little stallion followed at a leisurely lope. I smiled as Will started walking towards the miniature lake to let Bliss drink. I followed suit.

"It's weird," he said after a few long moments. "I've never seen those two. Usually, the Phantom's herd is the one that comes around here, them or another small herd led by a sorrel stallion. But them… that was weird. And the spotted stallion didn't look like a wild horse at all!"

"Wait, the Phantom?" I asked, quite confused.

"Sam's runaway horse, Blackie. Remember her story? The Phantom is the same horse, just all grown up and gone wild."

"Oh, well yes, but no one ever mentioned 'the Phantom' part of that. I just knew he ran away."

"Well now you know," he chuckled.

"It really is pretty here," I commented.

"Mmhmm. But we'd better get going; it's getting late." He was right--the first star was bound to appear in the eastern sky any minute now.

"Shoot," I muttered. "I'm so late. My parents are going to kill me."

"No, they won't," Will reassured me.

We began the across the narrow path once more, and once we reached the open range, urged our horses into a lope. We didn't talk anymore. Despite how easy conversation always seemed to be between us, I realized that we didn't mind each other's silent company. It was nice to know it could be either way.

The sun had completely disappeared past the horizon, leaving only a faint trail of golden light behind the Calico Mountains as we neared the Forster's. We slowed to a walk, because the dim twilight was making it more difficult to see.

"You know, it's funny, but I've already named those two Mustangs," I said slowly. Will looked at me quizzically.

"You named them," he repeated in disbelief.

"Oh, hush! I like naming things. The spotted one is Santana, and the little paint is Cadalac. Not spelled like the car, though, but differently, maybe…" I was lost in thought momentarily. "Yes, spelled c-a-d-a-l-a-c, because naming him after a car would be kind of weird."

"_You're _ridiculous," he scoffed.

"What? I think those are fine names."

"Whatever you say. You're such a sucker for animals, aren't you?"

"Yup. Quite." I smiled at him, and he just laughed.

"I didn't need to ask."

We reached our separate ways, said good-bye, and I continued walking home, trying not to think about how eerie the whole night was becoming.

Suddenly, something caught my eye, over to my right. I swiftly looked over my shoulder, but nothing was there. Creepy, I thought to myself. Just a second ago, something white had drifted in my line of view. Or at least, I thought so.

Then it was there and gone again, right before my eyes. It looked like an animal. Spirit's ears were moving nervously, and I felt my grip tighten on the reins. Okay, don't panic, I told myself, just keep walking, only five more minutes, and we'll be home…

And again, it was there. But this time, it stayed in view. It was a horse, almost glowing because of the milky coat in the dim light. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a horse, nothing to be afraid of.

But upon closer examination, I saw it was the Phantom! Sam's runaway horse! I had a feeling, I was sure of it. I felt a sense of wonder as I watched him disappear once more. No wonder he was called "the Phantom." It was quite fitting.

After reaching home and quickly putting Spirit away and cleaning my tack in a rush, I went inside my house, to find my parents both giving me angry glares.

"Explain," my dad said forcefully, staring me down with his own set of golden eyes. I gulped.

"We just went a little farther than I thought we were going to," I said bashfully. "That's all."

"You know what kind of animals prowl around at night?" my mother scolded. "We also let you go, even though we were left to feed all of the horses and bring them in for the night. And we were going to discuss the terms of your belated birthday present, but now…" She shook her head disapprovingly.

"What?" I whined. "Aw, c'mon, I didn't mean to stay out so late. I won't do it again, promise!"

"Alright," my dad replied, rubbing his temple. "Let's show her, Cassie."

He led me outside and around the back of the stable, where we kept our old truck. But now, there were two, one in slightly better condition than ours, but still definitely old and worn, with the paint beginning to peel. I moved closer to inspect it, finding that it was a deep red color, or so it seemed in the light of the moon. I turned around in shock.

"Really?" I asked. I'd earned my license on my sixteenth birthday, but I'd never really had the ability to drive myself anywhere, considering we only owned one truck that my parents used. Now, I had my own! My parents nodded and smiled at my enthusiasm.

"All yours, on a few conditions."

"Yes!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"You don't do what you did tonight," my mother said, giving me a firm stare. I bobbed my head earnestly.

"Two," my father continued, "you don't pull any stupid stunts with this truck and new freedom."

"Of course!" I agreed excitedly, running my hand along the truck's exterior, reveling in the thought of driving this where I wished.

"Three, you agree to start a part-time job we've found for you, so you can help pay for the costs."

"Alrighty!" I laughed. "Thank you guys so, so much!" I gave them both bear hugs before we headed back inside. "I can drive it to school tomorrow?"

"Sure," my father said. "In fact, I need you to. After school, you need to drive yourself over to your new boss's place."

"Sure thing, Dad," I responded as he handed me the keys. I clutched at them hungrily, relishing the moment. "Best belated birthday present ever! But, where exactly do you plan on making me go to work?"

"Gold Dust Ranch. You know the owner's daughter, Rachel Slocum, now don't you?"

Unfortunately. "Yes. But what in the world am I going to do there?"

"We met Mr. Slocum at the supermarket the other day, and he was kind enough to say that he could let you do the odd jobs around his ranch for twelve dollars an hour. You'll work an hour each day after school from four to five, and on Saturdays, six hours from nine a.m. until three p.m. Half of the money you earn in each weekly paycheck goes to us, the other half you're free to spend as you please. Fair enough?"

Were they serious? If Mr. Slocum was anything like his stuck-up daughter and half as bad as Sam, Jake, and Jen claimed him to be, then this job would be torture. Then again, I wanted this truck, right? And the pay was much better than I'd get probably anywhere else--more than twice minimum wage. And where else was I going to work? McDonald's? Even with a potentially horrendous boss, I'd be with horses. Or at the very least, near animals.

"Okay," I agreed tentatively. "Tomorrow."

"Good," my dad said, giving me a kiss on the forehead as he went into the living room to watch the football game that was on. I went off to start my homework, wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into.

The next day at school, I tried to steel myself for Rachel's potential wrath. After all, I was about to be spending a lot of time on her property. And considering what she may or may not have heard the other day from me in the hallway, she'd probably be antagonizing me all period.

I entered Spanish class and sat down quietly in my seat, trying my best to be a wallflower. However, Rachel still noticed me. As she took the seat next to me, glaring at me hatefully, I gulped. Either she really hated the idea that some weird, quiet girl she wasn't friends with was going to be working for her father, or she had heard.

"You're not going to last working for my father," Rachel smirked.

"What?" I asked, quite confused.

"My father will work you to the ground," she threatened. "He said you might become the person to help me pick out a new horse. Ha!" She laughed maliciously. "You won't even last that long, and even if you could, you'd never, ever win him over to the point where'd you help me find a new horse. Please, I don't need a pack mule."

My mouth fell open and I couldn't remember how to close it for quite some time. I was shocked. What in the world was this girl's _problem_? And how the heck was I going to survive this job?

I finally decided to close my gaping mouth and shrug nonchalantly. "As long as I don't need to be near you, I think I'll be fine."

She rolled her eyes and stared at her hot pink nails. What a diva.

"And why would I spend time around _you_?" she asked primly. Normally, I just ignored annoying people. But her questions required a response, otherwise, she'd consider my non-answers as victories for her.

"Very good, Rachel," I said slowly, giving her a few claps. "That's exactly the way I feel about you."

She snorted, and I smiled to myself. Win.

I didn't tell anyone about the news that day at school, until afterwards, when the entire story was practically forced out of me by Will when I ran into him in the parking lot.

"You got a truck?" he asked me, and I gave him a grin and nodded. "That's awesome! Your parents gave it to you?"

"Mmhmm," I replied, brushing back my over-grown bangs. "Isn't it neat?"

"It is," he replied earnestly. "Well, I guess you gotta get going."

"Yeah, in return for this, I have to get a part-time job," I said, groaning at the thought of seeing Rachel Slocum in her palace.

"Where?"

"At the Slocums' place," I said, sticking my tongue out in disgust. He cringed.

"You have… fun with that," he replied hesitantly, shaking his head. "I hope it pays well."

"We'll see if it's worth it."

"Doubt it."

"Shut up! I really need this job to keep this truck. Don't make me chicken out."

"Oh, but isn't the idea of just never visiting _tempting_?"

"Exceedingly so. Ah! Don't mess with my head! Go away!" He grinned as he stepped into the cab of his much larger, much fancier truck.

"Unfortunately, you're stuck with me," he called out as I started the truck's engine. I dismissed him with a flick of my wrist. Carefully, cautiously, I backed out of my parking space and began the drive to the Slocum's place. I hoped I was remembering the directions clearly--after all, no matter how much I despised my new boss's daughter, it was no excuse to arrive late, especially the first day on the job, because I was merely lost.

When I arrived, I was stunned. The mansion atop of a mound of dirt, attractive but artificial in appearance, even more so than Will's own house and even larger as it cast a shadow of a rather pathetic appearing little house at the base of the hill. An exquisite stable was off to the left, surrounded by emerald green grass and little gardens. To the right, some bulls were penned, and off in the distance, I saw some cowboys herding some Angus. The sight was incredible. Dust in the distance, wannabe-cowboy playground in the foreground. And, I remembered suddenly as I glanced around, Jen living in that tiny house, smothered by the mansion's shadow. I shuddered at the thought of living in that shadow.

I hesitantly stepped out of my truck, flustered because I wasn't sure where I was supposed to report to. However, a handsome boy who appeared my age came striding purposefully towards me, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he was going to tell me.

"Hello," he told me pleasantly, smiling brilliantly, and I detected the lilt to his voice that reminded me of…

I repressed the urge to smack my forehead. No way. This was _not _Rachel Slocum's brother. He looked too nice! Of course, appearances are always deceiving, I reminded myself, and with that in mind I gave him the customary reply.

"Hi," I replied. "I'm Lia."

"Lia?" he asked, his brow furrowing. "That wouldn't happen to be short for Aurelia, would it? My father's expecting her today."

Wow, so now I knew _three _Sherlock's. And this one rivaled Rachel's wittiness.

"Yes, it is," I replied curtly, shaking the hand he offered. His hair, the exact shade as Rachel's, ruffled in the breeze, and his deep brown eyes were much warmer than Rachel's. I sure hoped the stuck-up streak didn't run in the family. I liked the looks of him--friendly, amiable, and even kind of charming.

"Why, you're a sophomore at Darton High, aren't you?" he asked cheerfully. "I can't believe I've never run into you. Well, it's nice to meet you. My father told me you'd start doing a little work around here."

"Yes."

"Right this way." He began walking towards the stables, and I felt a smile creep across my face. I think I could handle this.

"Every day you come here, I'm going to be relaying my father's instructions to you," Ryan said as we entered the extraordinary stable. "And if I'm not here, either Jen or her father, Mr. Kenworthy, will let you know what to do. But for today, he'd like you to sweep the aisle ways. That won't take long, and it's all he needs you to do for today. We even have a mechanical sweeper that you push--it's right over there."

"Okay, simple enough," I replied, going over to it. "So, I just push it?"

"Yes. He wants the aisle spotless, because someone is coming over to look at a horse he had for sale today. Everything else had basically been cleaned today. After you've finished with that, you're free to go."

Really? Awesome. No Rachel, no overly-complicated job, and so far, not even a sign of the boss.

"Thanks, Ryan," I said brightly. He flashed me a blinding smile.

"Not a problem. You run into any problems, ask any of the staff for help."

"I will." He left, and I began to sweep the aisle. Of course, it was a simple task, but it actually took a good half hour to sweep the wide concrete aisle way that was the length of twenty stalls. I was a little tired afterwards, but happy that I could leave already.

I got home early, but my parents were so busy mending some fence in one of the turnouts that they didn't notice. I went into the stable and saw that the horses hadn't been fed yet, and decided to do it myself. After finishing that chore and even bringing the horses inside for the night, I decided to sit down a moment. I was getting a headache, so I set myself down on a bale of hay.

Not sixty seconds later, my phone rang shrilly. With a groan, I glanced at the caller ID, instantly smiling.

"Hello," I said cheerily, sitting up eagerly. When Will replied, however, his voice wasn't anything like mine in tone.

"I need to talk to you," he said, and my heart leapt in my throat. He sounded concerned, strained, like he was about to drop some bad news on me. Cautiously, I leaned against the wooden wall of the barn.

"About what?" I replied quietly. He let out a long sigh.

"See, the Slocum's are having a party this weekend, and my family got invited. My parents are making my brother and I go with them." He snorted in disgust. "And for some odd reason, I guess because my brother is taking his girlfriend with him, my parents are forcing me to get a date. I know it's a horrible thing to ask you to come to a party at Slocum's, but please? Otherwise, my parents will be mad at me, and honestly, it'll be nice to have you there as my friend."

Part of me wanted to start happy dancing. Will had basically just asked to go on a date with me. He'd made it clear that it wasn't romantic in any way, but it still made my heart pound in excitement. However, the other part of me shied at the thought of getting anywhere _near _Rachel Slocum. But he was my friend, right? And I should help him.

"Honestly, I don't have anything to wear to a snob party," I said with a laugh. "But I'll try. You'll owe me, though."

"Really, Lia?" he replied, sounding relieved. "You're the best friend in the world! Of course I'll repay you! Hey, we have this awesome chef at my house--not trying to brag, but he makes the world's best desserts. I'll have you come over sometime and tell him to make his famous chocolate ribbon mousse cake. He never makes it for anyone besides our family, but I think he can make an exception."

My mouth watered at the prospect. "Now this is really too tempting to pass up. I'm a sucker for chocolate."

"I'm going to remember that," he replied with a chuckle. "But thanks again. Hey, maybe we can make another escape, like at the dance. Or torture Rachel."

"They're both exciting prospects," I replied, and silly grin forming on my face. "But it's a formal party, huh?"

"Yup. Very formal. I couldn't care less if you came in jeans and a T-shirt, but my parents will, and so will the Slocum's. A nice dress, if you would." I let out a whooshing breath. The only dress nice enough that I owned was the one I'd worn to the dance, and well, there'd been a little accident with that.

"I don't have anything to wear!" I cried in exasperation. "And my parents just bought me a truck. They can't afford a nice dress for me."

"Hmm," he said, sounding preoccupied. "You'll figure it out. I know you will. I have to go now, though. Bye!" I stared in disbelief at the phone. What the heck was I doing?! I was being ridiculous, that was what. I growled and stomped towards the house, trying to calm myself down. There was no need to panic.

I was practically going on a date with a boy who had dreamy blue eyes. Oh, yes, there was _definitely _a need to panic.

Sam!

Maybe she'd know what to do about the dress situation. I dialed her number as soon as I was inside, using the house phone instead, slightly worried about my ever-increasing phone bill.

"Hello?" Oh, thank goodness, it was Sam.

"Sam! It's Lia! I need your help, desperately."

"Oh, hey. What's the matter? Oh, hang on a… dang it, Cody! And that shirt was nice and clean, too… GRAM!" I laughed as I could hear her shuffling on the other end, probably handing her little stepbrother off to her grandmother. "Sorry," she said a bit breathlessly. "He kinda just drooled on my shirt." I smiled.

"Nice. But seriously, I just got invited to this formal party. Long story, I'll tell you about it when it's all over. My point is, the only dress nice enough that I own kinda got ruined when I… never mind, that's not important. My parents can't afford a new dress for me, and I sorta promised some people that I would go. How can I solve this problem?"

The line went silent for a few seconds. "I don't have anything you can borrow. I'm sorry. I'm sure something will turn up. Give it a few days." I was a bit surprised that she didn't have anything more inventive to say, but I let it go.

"It's okay, Sam. Thanks anyway. I gotta go finish up some homework, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright," she replied, suddenly seeming more cheerful. Maybe I'd interrupted something. Whatever. We said our goodbyes, and I slammed the phone down into its cradle. What was I going to do?

Friday rolled around, and I still didn't have a solution. However, one came my that afternoon.

"Can you please tell me why you insist on driving me to Crane Crossing today?" I said irritably as I climbed into Will's truck. "How do I know you're not going to like, I don't know, rape me? 'Course, my parents seem pretty convinced you're not, but I have better common sense."

"Lia, have some class," he said, _tsk_ing his tongue. "I'm helping you out here. I'm going to drop you off at the Crane Crossing Mall, let you look around, and give you a wad of cash to buy a dress while I go get something to eat and… do something more manly than dress shopping." I tried to keep my face serious, even as we were bantering.

"You remember that when your future fiancée asks you to look at wedding dresses," I said with a smirk. He rolled his eyes before turning on the ignition.

"Witty," he grumbled finally. "And not even a thank you." I let out a dramatic sigh.

"Thank you," I said, but my tone was saturated with gratitude. "Really, you shouldn't be doing this."

"I said I owed you."

"Not a hundred dollars."

"Nope. Two hundred." He handed me two neatly folded hundred-dollar bills. I gasped.

"Will! I can't accept this. You're insane!"

"I'm desperate here. I tried to get out of this. They almost asked out a girl _for _me. Do you know how embarrassing that would be? Just play nice, please." He turned to be momentarily to beg with those pretty blue eyes. Darn. Him. He didn't play fair.

"Alright. I can play along."

"Thanks."

When we arrived, we instantly went our separate ways. I carefully hid the two hundred dollars in my jeans pocket and began to browse through dress shops. I wasn't finding much--everything was too gaudy for my taste. However, in one little boutique-style store, I found something I adored.

Black lace was contrasted with a soft silver lining in a strapless dress, delicately gathered at the waist. I could move in it, I could maybe almost be comfortable in it. And it was so, so pretty, the effect almost ethereal.

I checked the price tag. On sale of ninety-nine ninety-nine. Score. I could even repay Will the extra money leftover. I didn't even need to use that to buy shoes. I owned black shoes.

Smug with satisfaction, I paid for my dress and left the store, texting Will and trying to figure out where he was. I was surprised to see him coming my way, holding what appeared to be ice cream cones in his hands.

"On me," he said simply, and we sat together on a bench in the little indoor courtyard, licking away. About halfway through, he finally spoke.

"Find something?"

"Yup. And look, almost a hundred dollars in return." I handed him the change and he smiled.

"Glad I could help."

"Thank you." I threw the rest of my melting ice cream away and sat back down, feeling at loss for words. On an impulse, I rested my head against his shoulder. I could almost feel the look he gave me, but I closed my eyes and ignored it. I was blissful in stealing the moment.

"You can't be tired," he muttered in disbelief.

"Oh, well only a little." We sat in silence, and I even let out a real yawn that added to my façade. What a nice touch.

"Will," I muttered, trying to act sleepy. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah."

"Why in the world would you go through all this trouble for me?" There was a long pause after that.

"Well, I think you're worth it." I felt a little smile form on my face. "After all, you're coming to a Slocum party without being courteously required to. I think that's really nice of you, so I thought I'd help you out."

"Wow," I murmured. "You know, whenever you get a girlfriend, you should use that line on her. Only the first one, I mean." I tried to keep my tone light, but honestly, my pulse was thudding on the inside of my wrists.

"I think I will," he replied softly, and I could hear a thud as he threw his ice cream away. "C'mon, Sleeping Beauty, let's get you home." Gently, he helped me up, and I grabbed my bag as we began our trek to the car. It was going to be a long drive home, more than an hour. And I was actually beginning to feel a bit tired. With a sigh, I clambered into my seat and leaned my head back against the seat. The lack of sleep this week from several restless nights was beginning to take its toll--I was beginning to feel a massive headache coming on. I groaned.

"What?" he asked.

"Major headache," I said quietly. "Not enough sleep this week, I guess."

"I'm sorry," he said, and it took me almost a full minute to process that he had just leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I don't have anything for you to take, though. Just try to sleep."

I followed orders, but my dreams were far from pleasant.


End file.
